Gyula Demeter

By the overview of literature we can also find other functions or abilities which were
thought to fall under the term executive functions. To the Burgess (1997) list described above
we can add the prioritizing and sequencing of behavior, set shifting, multitasking, behavior
monitoring, inhibition of irrelevant information or stereotyped behavior, resistance to
interference, utilizing relevant information, abstracting relevant, common elements, sustaining
attention and the maintenance of intentions (Burgess, Veitch, de lacy Costello, & Shallice,
2000; Chan, Shum, Toulopoulou, & Chen, 2008; Damasio, 1995; Grafman & Litvan, 1999;
Shallice, 1988; Stuss & Benson, 1986).
One important moment in the research of executive function was the recognition that the
results from laboratory experiments are similar to the phenomenon observed in case of frontal
lesions. Many theories have their origin in the neuropsychological study of frontal lobes.
The classical symptoms of frontal syndrome are the rigidity of the behavior,
perseveration, planning and inhibition difficulties, inappropriate behavior in new situations,
which were interpreted in the context of executive system impairment (Shallice & Burgess,
1991). The neuropsychological assessment of frontal syndrome faces difficulties due to the
lack of valid and accurate executive tests and also because the syndrome itself is rather
fractionated then unitary (Chan et al., 2008).
It can be said that the concept of executive functions is a theoretical and not an
operational one, and doesn’t have a proper screening, or a well defined set of
neuropsychological tasks. For example if we want to study dysgrafia we have a set of tasks
assessing different aspects of writing, and subjects who fail will be considered dysgraphics.
But in case of executive functions we don’t have a prototypical screening measure.
Since the connections between executive deficit and frontal impairment were well
documented in clinical studies this issue was handled by selecting patients who had frontal
lesions (Burgess, 1997). However, the picture is even more confusing if we take into
consideration that the different methods used to evaluate executive functions require different
cognitive processes.
From the overlooked definitions, approaches we can see that the common aspect is the
idea that executive functions are thought of as a set of abilities required to guide our behavior
toward a goal, especially in new situations and are essential critical in everyday life.
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