The Frontal Lobes

Hans-Lukas Teuber, one of the founders of modern neuropsychology, titled one of his crucial papers “The riddle of the frontal lobe function in man.” That 1964 publication remains in part valid and illustrates the fact that, until recently, the functions of the human frontal lobes have been largely shrouded in mystery. Today, over 50 years later (and over 150 years after the publication of the puzzling case history of Phineas Gage), the riddle has yet to be solved entirely, even though much more is known. What we know for sure is that lesions of the frontal lobes produce a series of disorders that have one thing in common: they may induce a number of severe behavioral problems including apathy, depression, and marked impairment in executive functions. The aim of the present volume is to present the most updated data on frontal lobe functions and their disorders.