Does Damage to the Frontal Lobes Produce Impairment in Memory?

Abstract

There has long been controversy about the function of the frontal lobes in memory. Historically, in lesion studies, the frontal lobes were discussed as if they represented a single functional unit, and little attention was paid to possible regional differences. In a series of experiments involving patients with focal frontal lobe lesions, we have demonstrated that different frontal regions affect strategic memory processes in unique ways. In addition, some regions of the frontal lobes are involved in nonstrategic memory encoding, likely through actual involvement of the limbic memory regions or through the impact of processing deficits related to the specific mode of the information to be learned (e.g., language). These findings converge with those of functional imaging studies showing the dissociation of memory processes within the frontal lobes, and are indicative of the complex roles subserved by the frontal lobes. Future research will need to explore how the different functions within the frontal lobes influence other dynamic cognitive systems.