[Recency test as an indicator of frontal lobe function and the verbal regulation of motor behavior]

The development of relationships between the temporal ordering of verbal or non-verbal events and the verbal regulation of motor behavior was examined with a total of 142 4- and 5-years old. Performances on a two-choice button-pushing task were compared between high or low groups determined by either verbal or non-verbal recency task. Children conducted the button-pushing task with their dominant hand under following two conditions: verbalization and non-verbalization of their button-pushing activity. Results showed that the low group in verbal recency task manifested significantly poorer performances than the high group, whereas there was no difference in performance between the high and the low groups in non-verbal recency task. These findings were interpreted as supporting the view that the verbal regulation of motor behavior are related to the function of the left-frontal lobe.