Historical Evolution of the Frontal Lobe Syndrome

Abstract

The function of the frontal lobes and the related frontal lobe syndrome have not been described in detail until relatively late in history. Slowly, the combination of knowledge from animal models, the detailed examination of symptoms after traumatic frontal lobe injuries, and the rise and fall of psychosurgery has led to increasing insight into frontal lobe function. The frontosubcortical circuits have been described and increasingly related to clinical syndromes, confirmed by the latest developments in functional connectivity networks.

Toward a global and reproducible science for brain imaging in neurotrauma: the ENIGMA adult moderate/severe traumatic brain injury working group

“…In contrast, on the SCL-90 (higher z-scores = more symptoms), which is a self-report measure, while somatic issues that related to mobility and pain were prominently endorsed, the Global Severity Index (GSI) was only minimally elevated, with no significant endorsement of symptoms related to depression or anxiety. This would be consistent with caregiver observations that the patient lacked insight into changes in personality and emotional control, impairments often reported to be present in TBI patients with extensive frontotemporal pathology (Krudop & Pijnenburg, 2015), as evident in this patient with TBI, and require customized pipelines (Lutkenhoff et al 2014). Conventional lesion mapping approaches -such as pathology masking -can fail, especially when multiple large lesions are present (Wong et al 2016).…”

Altered Brain Activity in Patients With Comitant Strabismus Detected by Analysis of the Fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

“…The frontal lobe is a large part of the brain comprising four subcortical circuits. Lesions in each circuit manifest different disorders, such as voluntary movement, behavioral status, and mental activity disorders (Krudop and Pijnenburg, 2015). Besides, some part of the frontal lobe is important in integrating visual function, the frontal eye field (FEF) is located in the frontal cortex and has the function of triggering eye movements and influencing their accuracy or latency.…”

Mother and daughter with adolescent-onset severe frontal lobe dysfunction and epilepsy

“… 11 , 12 It is known that people with frontal lobe epilepsy may have behavioral abnormalities, including hyperactivity, conscientiousness, obsession, and addiction, 11 but not to the degree seen in these two patients, which resemble classical, severe frontal lobe syndromes with marked disinhibition and executive dysfunction. 1 , 7 , 13 …”

“…Some are obviously acquired and indeed classical texts in Neurology based the description of the 'frontal lobe syndrome' on patients with extensive traumatic, neoplastic, vascular or degenerative destruction of the frontal lobes. 1 However, a number of genetically-determined conditions have been increasingly reported, mostly associated with degenerative or metabolic diseases, often presenting in late adulthood and having unequivocal progression. 2 Furthermore, when disorders predominantly involving the frontal lobes present early in life, they usually have additional neurological features, such as white matter progressive abnormalities and motor dysfunction.…”