THE EXECUTIVE BRAIN
Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind

Elkhonon Goldberg, foreword by Oliver Sacks

Oxford University Press, 2001

The frontal lobes perform the most advanced and complex functions in the brain, the so-called 'executive functions.' They are involved in intentionality, purposefulness, and complex decision making. Alexandr Luria called them 'the organ of civilization.' They are involved in leadership, motivation, drive, vision, self-awareness and awareness of others, creativity, gender-linked cognitive styles, social maturity and social responsibility, cognitive development and learning, dementias, personality, and neurological and psychiatric illness. This book describes the functions of the frontal lobes, the great range of frontal lobe 'styles' in normal people, the tragedies of neurological disease or brain damage, the ways in which these functions can be tested, and ways in which frontal functions can be strengthened. Goldberg describes 'cognitive fitness,' the use of 'cognitive exercise' and a 'cognitive gym.'