FRONTAL LOBES AND PROCESSES OF SYNTHESIS IN BRAIN

The recent work of the author on the frontal lobes of dogs, monkeys and man was reviewed. Using conditioning techniques, it was found that damage to the anterior frontal (prefrontal) area produced failure to respond positively to a complex stimulus while attempting to restrain responses to components of the complex stimulus. The same difficulties were not exhibited as a result of damage restricted to the ‘premotor’ area although motor difficulties were pronounced in the latter cases. By the use of other tests and observations together with the conditioning procedures, it was indicated that the frontal lobes are the important sites of intermodality synthesis and of integrated programing for complex, serial acts. The disorders following frontal damage are more severe in the sequence from dog to monkey to man reflecting the progressively increasing importance of the frontal lobes in the described synthesis and complex programing. © 1969 S. Karger AG, Basel.