FRONTAL-LOBE DAMAGE IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS - A COMPARATIVE REVIEW

Clinical and experimental studies of focal frontal lobe damage in children and adults are reviewed and analyzed. Although each literature has traditionally been treated separately, we argue that they share many common issues and that comparative analysis reveals both contrasting and complementary findings that provide the foundation for a life-span view of frontal lobe maturation and operation. Furthermore, each literature offers unique data regarding frontal lobe damage and recovery. Integration of these diverse findings is important to clinical and theoretical advances, and leads to the common view that the frontal lobes and their connections are critical to the development and maintenance of human adjustment and adaptive behavior throughout life.