Dysexecutive Syndromes

The concept of executive functioning has become central in understanding normal and abnormal cognitive processes. This timely volume analyzes the diverse conditions that can result in executive function disturbances, providing research about underlying causes, exploring the differences between developmental and acquired executive "dysfunctions," and providing approaches for the assessment of executive dysfunction both in children and in adults. In doing so, it addresses a gap in the literature in its analysis of executive function deficits and their link with psychopathology in psychiatric patients for the management of clinical symptoms and social adjustment. Among the specific topics examined: Theoretical approaches for the analysis of the diverse dysexecutive syndromes Common executive dysfunction syndromes found during childhood development: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorders Consequences of executive function deficits in the use of information technology Executive dysfunction and personality disorders Common executive function tests, assessment issues in executive dysfunction, and cross-cultural and bilingual questions in assessment of executive dysfunction Dysexecutive Syndromes: Clinical and Experimental Perspectives expertly extends the analysis of executive functions and dysfunctions from a fundamental and clinical perspective. It is essential reading for clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists, and graduate and post-graduate students in psychology, neurology, and the health neurosciences, as well as clinicians, counselors, and psychometricians working with neuropsychiatric assessment.

The concept of executive functioning has become central in understanding normal and abnormal cognitive processes. This timely volume analyzes the diverse conditions that can result in executive function disturbances, providing research about underlying causes, exploring the differences between developmental and acquired executive "dysfunctions," and providing approaches for the assessment of executive dysfunction both in children and in adults. In doing so, it addresses a gap in the literature in its analysis of executive function deficits and their link with psychopathology in psychiatric patients for the management of clinical symptoms and social adjustment. Among the specific topics examined: Theoretical approaches for the analysis of the diverse dysexecutive syndromes Common executive dysfunction syndromes found during childhood development: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorders Consequences of executive function deficits in the use of information technology Executive dysfunction and personality disorders Common executive function tests, assessment issues in executive dysfunction, and cross-cultural and bilingual questions in assessment of executive dysfunction Dysexecutive Syndromes: Clinical and Experimental Perspectives expertly extends the analysis of executive functions and dysfunctions from a fundamental and clinical perspective. It is essential reading for clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists, and graduate and post-graduate students in psychology, neurology, and the health neurosciences, as well as clinicians, counselors, and psychometricians working with neuropsychiatric assessment.

A test battery aimed at predicting everyday problems arising from the Dysexecutive syndrome (des)

The care of stroke patients has changed dramatically. As well as improvements in the emergency care of the condition, there have been marked advances in our understanding, management and rehabilitation of residual deficits. This book is about the care of stroke patients, focusing on behavioural and cognitive problems. It provides a comprehensive review of the field covering the diagnostic value of these conditions, in the acute and later phases, their requirements in terms of treatment and management and the likelihood and significance of long-term disability. This book will appeal to all clinicians involved in the care of stroke patients, as well as to neuropsychologists, other rehabilitation therapists and research scientists investigating the underlying neuroscience.

This exciting volume brings together the latest work of 26 recognized experts in clinical neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, neuroscience, and neuroimaging. Its chapters are organized into sections that cover a broad range of topics related to advances in our understanding of normal and abnormal frontal lobe functions. Part 1 introduces frontal lobe dysfunction as a common pathway leading to social and occupational disability, arguing that our aging population with its decline in executive cognitive abilities mandates corresponding eligibility and treatment changes in public and private health disability policies. Part 2 delineates the anatomy and neurochemistry of the extended frontal systems underlying neuropsychiatric illness, including colorful illustrations of three key prefrontal-subcortical circuits; a description of the functional anatomy of the orbitofrontal cortex and its relationship to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); the intricate pharmacology of working memory systems and how they apply to schizophrenia; the lateralization of prefrontal cognitive functions; and a framework for understanding the role played by the prefrontal cortex in consciousness and self-awareness. Part 3 clarifies the overused diagnosis "frontal lobe syndrome" seen in clinical practice, identifying three prefrontal syndromes for further study -- dorsolateral dysexecutive syndrome, orbitofrontal disinhibited syndrome, and mesial frontal apathetic syndrome -- that align with the anatomical systems described in Part 2 of this volume. Also included are common problems -- and suggested solutions -- in diagnosis and treatment, a practical overview of the assessment of frontal lobe functions with guidelines for bedside and formal neuropsychological examination, and comprehensive treatment strategies. Part 4 covers the role of the frontal lobes in major neuropsychiatric illnesses, discussing evidence that shows prefrontal and anterior temporal hypometabolism in primary and secondary depression; reviewing anatomical, imaging, and neurochemical studies in schizophrenia; describing the neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric sequelae of closed head injury; summarizing the neurological substrates related to interesting and often dramatic cases of content-specific delusions; and concluding with a report on the stereotactic neurosurgical treatment of refractory OCD and its implications for understanding frontal lobe function. This remarkable work is intended for psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, basic and clinical neuroscientists, and trainees from each of these disciplines, who will welcome it as a valuable tool in understanding the complexities of what was once considered the terra incognita of the brain.

Executive Functions in Health and Disease provides a comprehensive review of both healthy and disordered executive function. It discusses what executive functions are, what parts of the brain are involved, what happens when they go awry in cases of dementia, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, traumatic injury, developmental disorders, cutting edge methods for studying executive functions and therapies for treating executive function disorders. It will appeal to neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, neuroscientists and researchers in cognitive psychology. Encompasses healthy executive functioning as well as dysfunction Identifies prefrontal cortex and other brain areas associated with executive functions Reviews methods and tools used in executive function research Explores executive dysfunction in dementia, ADHD, PTSD, TBI, developmental and psychiatric disorders Discusses executive function research expansion in social and affective neuroscience, neuroeconomics, aging and criminology Includes color neuroimages showing executive function brain activity

This volume reflects the pressure to develop useful models and methodologies to study executive behaviour - the ability to update information in working memory in order to control selective attention to formulate plans of action and to monitor their efficient execution. Many models are based on the concept of a single "central executive" that manges these functions; others propose a number of independent "working memory systems" that each serve one task or activity but not others.; This book is a collection of essays by active researchers who discuss their own work on the definition of "executive" or "controlled" behaviours, and on the relation of these behaviours to specific areas of the frontal cortex. The papers are particularly concerned with logical difficulties that arise in defining these functions that lead, in turn, to methodological difficulties in studying them. In particular, they discuss such problems as the low test-re-test reliability of tasks that have been used to define and explore "executive" behaviours, the limited validity of these tasks in predicting performance deficits, the poor localization of the changes observed with respect to underlying brain function, and the relation of performance on these tasks to individual difference in performance on measures of "global" or "general" intellectual ability such as Spearman's 1927 gf.; The authors discuss their own research on the relations between cognitive function and neuropsychology, on changes in executive competence in conditions such as closed head injuries or dementias that may diffusely affect the whole brain, and on changes in executive function in normal old age.