Frontal syndrome and disorders of executive functions

Abstract

The study of executive functions began with the early description of behavioural disorders induced by frontal damage. The development of experimental neuropsychology has led to the description of a large variety of cognitive disorders. Such approach has generated numerous tests that are used in clinical practice. More recently, theoretical approaches have proposed an organisation of executive processes and have documented the diversity of executive functions and related anatomy. These studies have deeply influenced the clinical approach, the assessment and the diagnosis of planning and executive disorders. For clinical practice, these data have favoured specific assessment of some key behavioural and cognitive deficits based on a battery of tests.