Speed and flexibility on word fluency tasks after focal brain lesions

Neuropsychologia. 1994 Oct;32(10):1257-62. doi: 10.1016/0028-3932(94)90107-4.

Abstract

It was predicted that frontal lobe damaged patients are slower on word fluency tasks, especially on the generation of words beginning with a particular letter, and less flexible ("stuck-inset") on category alternation than patients with posterior lesions, whereas the latter commit a higher number of repetitions ("recurrent perseverations") than the former. Twenty-nine anterior and 31 posterior brain damaged patients were requested to say as quickly as possible (1) 20 animal names, (2) 10 words beginning with the letter S, and (3) alternately animals and S-words, 10 from each category without repeating the words already used in these tasks. The results failed to confirm the predictions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anomia / physiopathology*
  • Anomia / psychology
  • Brain Damage, Chronic / physiopathology*
  • Brain Damage, Chronic / psychology
  • Brain Diseases / physiopathology
  • Brain Diseases / surgery
  • Brain Neoplasms / physiopathology
  • Brain Neoplasms / surgery
  • Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / physiopathology*
  • Frontal Lobe / surgery
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Postoperative Complications / physiopathology
  • Postoperative Complications / psychology
  • Reaction Time / physiology*
  • Speech Production Measurement
  • Verbal Behavior / physiology*