The Frontal Lobes: Development, Function and Pathology
Jarl Risberg
Lund University
Sweden
Prerequisites: None
Course Description:
Week 1
A. Developmental aspects.
Phylogenesis: What advantages and disadvantages have the development of
our advanced frontal lobes brought to mankind? Are we “human” because of
the frontal lobes? When and how did the development start during the evolution
of mankind?
Ontogenesis: The development of the brain with special
focus on the frontal lobes.
B. Development of knowledge about the frontal lobes.
The history of neuropsychology with special focus on theories about frontal
lobe functions.
Week 2
A. Frontal lobe functions – cognition.
An overview of recent theories and findings regarding the importance of
the frontal lobes for cognitive functions.
B. Frontal lobe functions – emotion and personality.
An overview of recent theories and findings regarding the importance of
the frontal lobes for the regulation of affective and other functions related
to personality.
Week 3
A. Degenerative brain disorders primarily affecting the frontal lobes.
Disease processes, clinical symptoms and diagnostic issues in frontal
lobe dementia and other degenerative brain disorders primarily affecting
the frontal lobes.
B. Frontal lobe disturbances in other forms of organic dementia.
Disease processes, clinical symptoms and diagnostic issues in organic
dementing disorders in which additional or secondary involvement of the
frontal lobes is common. Frontal lobe dysfunction in toxic encephalopathy
(alcohol, organic solvents, drugs).
Week 4
A. Frontal lobe disturbances in patients with psychiatric disorders.
Frontal lobe disturbances in patients with schizophrenia, depression and
other psychiatric disorders.
Frontal functional abnormalities in persons with disturbances of social
behaviour.
B. Summing up the course.
Course Reading List
Main books
Fuster JM (1997). The Prefrontal Cortex: Anatomy, Physiology, and Neuropsychology
of the Frontal Lobe. New York: Raven Press.
Salloway S, Malloy P and Duffy J, editors (2001). The Frontal Lobes and
Neuropsychiatric Illness. Washington, DC: Am. Psychiatr. Press.
Stuss DT and Knight RT, editors (2002). Principles of Frontal Lobe Function.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Some optional books and journal articles
Allman J (1999). Evolving Brains. New York: Scientific American Library.
Andreasen NC (2001). Brave New Brain. Conquering Mental Illness in the
Era of the Genome. New York: Oxford University Press.
Carlsson I, Wendt PE and Risberg J (2000). On the neurobiology of creativity.
Differences in frontal activity between high and low creative subjects. Neuropsychologia
38:873-85.
Craik FIM, Moroz TM, Moscovitch M, Stuss DT and Winocur G (1999). In search
of the self: a positron emission tomography study. Psychol. Sci. 10:27-35.
Damasio AR (1994). Descartes’ Error. Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain.
New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons.
Elfgren C, Passant U and Risberg J (1993). Neuropsychological findings
in frontal lobe dementia. Dementia 4:214-9.
Elfgren CI and Risberg J (1998). Lateralized frontal blood flow increases
during fluency tasks: influence of cognitive strategy. Neuropsychologia 36:505-12.
Frith CD and Frith U (1999). Interacting minds a biological basis. Science
286:1692-95.
Fuster JM (2003). Cortex and Mind. Unifying Cognition. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Goldberg E (2001). The Executive Brain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Liu X, Passant U, Risberg J, Warkentin S and Brun A (1999). Synapse density
related to cerebral blood flow and symptomatology in frontal lobe degeneration
and Alzheimer's disease. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 10 Suppl 1:64-70.
Risberg J and Gustafson L (1997). Regional cerebral blood flow measurements
in the clinical evaluation of demented patients. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord.
8:92-7.
Shammi P and Stuss DT (1999). Humour appreciation: a role of the right
frontal lobe. Brain 122:657-66.
Stuss DT, Murphy KJ, Binns MA and Alexander MP (2003). Staying on the
job: the frontal lobes control individual performance variability. Brain
126:2363-80.
