The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 2001 - Biography & Autobiography - 251 pages
The Executive Brain is the first book to explore in popular scientific terms one of the most important and rapidly evolving topics in contemporary neuropsychology, the most "human" and recently evolved region of the brain--the frontal lobes. Crucial for all high-order functioning, it is only in humans that the frontal lobes are so highly developed. They hold the key to our judgment, our social and ethical behavior, our imagination, indeed, to our "soul." The author shows how the frontal lobes enable us to engage in complex mental processes, how vulnerable they are to injury, and how devastating the effects of damage often are, leading to chaotic, disorganized, asocial, and even criminal behavior.

Made up of fascinating case histories and anecdotes, Goldberg's book offers a panorama of state-of-the-art ideas and advances in cognitive neuroscience. It is also an intellectual memoir, filled with vignettes about the author's early training with the great Russian neuropsychologist A.R. Luria, Goldberg's escape from the Soviet Union, and his later interactions with patients and professionals around the world.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
An End and a Beginning A Dedication
7
The Brains Chief Executive The Frontal Lobes at a Glance
21
The Executive Lobe
23
Architecture of the Brain A Primer
27
The Macroscopic View
29
The Command Post and Its Connections
35
The Orchestra Front Row The Cortex
37
Rigidity of Mind
129
Anosognosia
135
Social Maturity Morality Law and the Frontal Lobes
139
Social Maturity and the Frontal Lobes
141
A Historical Puzzle
143
Frontal Lobe Damage and Criminal Behavior
146
The Hapless Robber
150
Frontal Lobe Damage and the Public Blindspot
155

Novelty Routines and Cerebral Hemispheres
40
Noahs Predicament and the Landscapes of the Brain
52
Module Madness
55
Cognitive Gradients and Cognitive Hierarchies
58
A Thing Is a Thing
62
A Word to a Thing
64
The Conductor A Closer Look at the Frontal Lobes
69
Working Memoryor Working with Memory?
72
Freedom of Choice Ambiguity and the Frontal Lobes
77
Different Lobes for Different Folks DecisionMaking Styles and the Frontal Lobes
87
Male and Female Cognitive Styles
88
Frontal Lobes Hemispheres and Cognitive Styles
93
Cognitive Styles and Brain Wiring
96
Handedness and Novelty Seeking
99
The S Factor and the Theory of Mind
104
When the Leader Is Wounded
113
Frontal Lobe Syndromes
116
A Dorsolateral Case Study
118
Plans and the Memories of the Future
123
Fateful Disconnections
157
A Connection That Was Never Made
163
A Broken Connection
167
A Fragile Connection
168
Jerky Tics and Ticky Jokes
180
What Can You Do for Me?
193
Jogging the Brain
197
History of Cognitive Rehabilitation
202
Brain Plasticity and Cognitive Exercise
204
Beginning of a Trend
210
Beginnings of a Program
212
Frontal Lobes and the Leadership Paradox
215
Autonomy and Control in Society
219
Autonomy and Control in the Digital World
223
Epilogue
227
References and Notes
231
Index
247
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2001)

Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D. divides his time between the clinical practice of neuropsychology, research in cognitive neuroscience, and teaching worldwide. He is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine and Director of the Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Performance. He lives in New York City.

Bibliographic information