The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind

The Executive Brain is the first book to explore in popular scientific terms one of the most important and rapidly evolving topics in contemporary neuropsychology, the most "human" and recently evolved region of the brain--the frontal lobes. Crucial for all high-order functioning, it is only in humans that the frontal lobes are so highly developed. They hold the key to our judgment, our social and ethical behavior, our imagination, indeed, to our "soul." The author shows how the frontal lobes enable us to engage in complex mental processes, how vulnerable they are to injury, and how devastating the effects of damage often are, leading to chaotic, disorganized, asocial, and even criminal behavior.