Summary
A total of 36 patients with chronic unilateral circumscribed medial and dorsolateral frontal lobe lesions were investigated with a range of neuropsychological tests. Lateralized deficits in tasks depending on language functions were found with dorsolateral but not with medial lesions. The specific role of Broca's area could not be confirmed. Lesions of the supplementary motor area led to mild deficits in tests of “concept formation”. Frontomedial lesions situated more deeply in the interhemispheric fissure resulted in memory deficits. The results are discussed on the basis of recent neurophysiological theories of brain function.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armitage SG (1946) An analysis of certain psychological tests used for the evaluation of brain injury. Psychol Monogr 60:(whole number) 277
Benton AL (1972) Der Benton Test. Huber, Bern Stuttgart
Blunk R, De Bleser R, Willmes K, Zeumer H (1981) A refined method to relate morphological and functional aspects of aphasia. Eur Neurol 20:69–79
Brickner RM (1940) A human cortical area producing repetitive phenomena when stimulated. J Neurophysiol 3:128–130
Brinkman C, Porter R (1979) Supplementary motor area in the monkey: activity of neurons during performance of a learned motor task. J Neurophysiol 42:681–700
Brunner RJ, Kornhuber HH, Seemüller E, Suger G, Wallesch CW (1982) Basal ganglia participation in language pathology. Brain Lang 16:281–299
Butters N, Rosen J, Stein D (1974) Recovery of behavioral functions after sequential ablation of the frontal lobe in monkeys. In: Stein DG, Rosen J, Butters N (eds) Plasticity and recovery of function in the nervous system. Academic Press, New York, 429–466
Damasio A (1979) The frontal lobes. In: Heilman KM, Valenstein E (eds) Clinical neuropsychology. Oxford University Press, New York Oxford, 360–412
Deecke L, Kornhuber HH (1978) An electrical sign of participation of the mesial “supplementary” motor cortex in human voluntary finger movements. Brain Res 159:473–476
Eccles J (1982) The initiation of voluntary movements by the supplementary motor area. Arch Psychiatr Nervenkr 231:423–442
Fuster JM (1980) The prefrontal cortex. Raven Press, New York
Goldberg G, Mayer NH, Toglia JU (1981) Medial frontal cortex infarction and the alien hand sign. Arch Neurol 38 683–686
Grant DA, Berg EA (1948) A behavioral analysis of degree of reinforcement and ease of shifting to new responses in a Weigltype card-sorting problem. J Exp Psychol 38 404–411
Grözinger B, Kornhuber HH, Kriebel J (1979) Participation of mesial cortex in speech: evidence from cerebral potentials preceding speech production in man. In: Creutzfeld O, Scheich H, Schreiner C (eds) Hearing mechanisms and speech. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 189–192
Hecaen H, Albert ML (1975) Disorders of mental functioning related to frontal lobe pathology. In: Benson DF, Blumer D (eds) Psychatric aspects of neurologic disease. Grune & Stratton, New York, 137–149
Heilman KM, Valenstein E (1972) Frontal lobe neglect in man. Neurology 22:660–664
Huber W, Poeck K, Weniger D, Willmes K (1983) Der Aachener Aphasietest. Hogrefe, Göttingen
Ingvar DH, Schwartz MS (1974) Blood flow patterns induced in the dominant hemisphere by speech and reading. Brain 97:273–288
Jacobson CF (1935) Functions of the frontal association area in primates. Arch Neurol Psychiatr 33:558–569
Jonas S (1981) The supplementary motor region and speech emission. J Commun Dis 14:349–373
Kleist K (1934) Gehirnpathologie. Barth, Leipzig
Kornhuber HH (1973) Neural control of input into long term memory: limbic system and amnestic syndrome in man. In: Zippel HP (ed) Memory and transfer of information. Plenum Press, New York London, 1–22
Kornhuber HH (1974) Cerebral cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia: an introduction to their motor functions. In: Schmitt FO, Worden FG (eds) The neurosciences, third study program, MIT Press, Cambridge Mass, 267–280
Kornhuber HH (1977) A reconsideration of the cortical and subcortical mechanisms involved in speech and aphasia. In: Desmedt JE (ed) Language and hemispheric specialization in man: cerebral event-related potentials. Karger, Basel, 28–35
Kornhuber HH (1980a) Introduction. In: Deecke L, Kornhuber HH (eds) Motivation, motor and sensory processes of the brain: electrical potentials, behaviour and clinical use. Elsevier/North Holland, Amsterdam New York Oxford, IX-XII
Kornhuber HH (1980b) Physiologie und Pathophysiologie der cortikalen und subcortikalen Bewegungssteuerung. In: Mertens HG, Przuntek H (Hrsg) Pathologische Erregbarkeit des Nervensystems und ihre Behandlung. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 17–32
Kornhuber HH, Brunner RJ, Wallesch CW (1979) Basal ganglia participation in aphasia. In: Creutzfeld O, Scheich H, Schreiner C (eds) Hearing mechanisms and speech. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 183–187
Laplane D, Talairach J, Meininger V, Bancaud V, Orgogozo JM (1977) Clinical consequences of corticectomies involving the supplementary motor area in man. J Neurol Sci 34:301–314
Luria AR (1969) Frontal lobe syndromes. In: Vinken PJ, Bruyn GW (eds) Handbook of clinical neurology, vol 3. North Holland, Amsterdam New York Oxford, 725–757
Matsui T, Hirano A (1978) An atlas of the brain for computerized tomography. Fischer, New York
Metter EJ, Wasterlain CG, Kuhl DE, Hanson WR, Phelps ME (1981) 18FDG positron emission computed tomography in a study of aphasia. Ann Neurol 10:173–183
Milner B (1963) Effects of different brain lesions on card sorting. Arch Neurol 9:90–100
Milner B (1971) Interhemispheric differences in the localization of psychological processes in man. Br Med Bull 27:272–277
Mohr JP, Pessin MS, Finkelstein S, Funkenstein HH, Duncan G, Davies KR (1978) Broca aphasia: pathology and clinical. Neurology 28:311–324
Newcombe F (1969) Missile wounds of the brain. Oxford University Press, London
Orgass B (1976) Eine Revision des Token Tests. I. Vereinfachung der Auswertung, Itemanalyse und Einführung einer Alterskorrektur. Diagnostica 22:70–87
Penfield W, Roberts L (1959) Speech and brain mechanisms. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Racy A, Jannotta FS, Lehner LH (1979) Aphasia resulting from occlusion of the left anterior cerebral artery. Arch Neurol 36:221–224
Raven JC (1956) Standard Progressive Matrices. Lewis, London
Roland PE, Larsen B, Lassen NA, Skinhøj E (1980) Supplementary motor area and other cortical areas in organization of voluntary movements in man. J Neurophysiol 43:118–136
Rubens AB (1975) Aphasia with infarction in the territory of the anterior cerebral artery. Cortex 11:239–250
Schmale H, Schmidtke H (1966) Berufseignungstest. Huber, Bern Stuttgart
Siegel S (1956) Nonparametric statistics for the behavioural sciences. McGraw Hill, Kogakusha, Tokyo
Talland GA (1965) Deranged memory. Academic Press, New York London
Tonkonogy J, Goodglass H (1981) Language function, foot of the third frontal gyrus, and rolandic operculum. Arch Neurol 38:486–490
Wallesch CW, Kornhuber HH, Kunz T, Brunner RJ (1983) Neuropsychological deficits associated with small unilateral thalamic lesions. Brain (in press)
Wechsler D (1945) A standardized memory scale for clinical use. J Psychol 19:87–97
Wechsler D, Hardesty A, Lauber H (1964) Die Messung der Intelligenz Erwachsener. Huber, Bern Stuttgart Wien
Wiesendanger M, Seguin JJ, Künzel H (1973) The supplementary motor area—a control system for posture? In: Stein RB, Pearson KC, Shmith RS, Redford JB (eds) Control of posture and locomotion. Plenum Press, New York, 331–346
Wyke MA (1966) An experimental study of verbal association in dysphasie subjects. Brain 85:679–686
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grant Br 736/1-3 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschft.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wallesch, C.W., Kornhuber, H.H., Köllner, C. et al. Language and cognitive deficits resulting from medial and dorsolateral frontal lobe lesions. Arch Psychiatr Nervenkr 233, 279–296 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345798
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345798