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Staying on the job: the frontal lobes control individual performance variability
Donald T Stuss1, Kelly J Murphy, Malcolm A Binns
1Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. dstuss@rotman-baycrest.on.ca
Brain : a Journal of Neurology
|July 24, 2003
Summary
Frontal lobe damage significantly increases cognitive performance variability in patients. This instability in performance may explain daily task difficulties in individuals with frontal brain injuries.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Individual performance variability is often overlooked but crucial for real-life activities.
- Excessive variability can significantly impact functional abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if focal frontal brain lesions lead to increased individual performance variability.
- To compare variability in patients with frontal lesions versus non-frontal lesions and controls.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-six patients with focal frontal (n=25) or non-frontal (n=11) lesions and 12 controls completed reaction time tasks.
- Intra-individual variability was measured by dispersion within sessions and consistency across sessions.
- Performance consistency was assessed over three testing sessions for a subset of participants.
Main Results:
- Frontal lobe patients exhibited abnormal performance dispersion, unlike non-frontal patients or controls (excluding inferior medial damage).
- Inconsistent performance was primarily observed in patients with frontal lesions.
- Different frontal regions showed distinct patterns of abnormal variability.
Conclusions:
- Focal frontal lobe damage impairs cognitive performance stability.
- Increased performance variability in frontal patients may contribute to difficulties in daily functioning.