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Summary of the key points in the article
Stuss and Alexander (84) sought to substantiate whether memory is impaired when frontal lobes are damaged. The authors posed this question based on an ongoing controversy about the role of frontal lobes in performing the function of memory. Stuss and Alexander identified that the frontal lobes have been wrongly considered to perform a single function. This paper clearly demonstrated how damage in different regions of the frontal lobes affects different memory processes in distinct ways. The authors of this article have established that damage to the frontal lobes hardly affects intrinsic functions of episodic memory. Nevertheless, there are some memory impairments that result from damage to the frontal lobes, but these depend on the sub-regions of the frontal lobes that have been damaged. This implies that the frontal lobes do not operate as a homogenous functional unit.
The fact that the frontal lobes do not function as an amorphous unit implies that the best way to identify the role played by the frontal lobes in memory is by examining different regions in the frontal lobes and how memory is affected when they are damaged. The authors established that some regions in the frontal lobes are involved in episodic memory, while other regions are involved in encoding memory. At the same time, there are other regions in the frontal lobes that are involved in strategic memory processes, like monitoring memory. This is a confirmation that there are different roles played by different sub-regions of the frontal regions of the brain.
Interesting aspect in the article
It was interesting to see the authors of this study examine the frontal lobes as being made of different sub-regions that play different roles in memory. This is an insightful look that deviates from the historical perspective of viewing the frontal lobes as a single functional unit. Stuss and Alexander (85) did not only question the role of the frontal lobes in memory, but they also went ahead to conduct studies to prove that damage to different regions of the frontal lobes affects memory in unique ways.
Link between the article and real life applications
This study relates with real life in that the findings of the article help in explaining why patients suffering from frontal lobes damage exhibit different memory impairments depending on the region of the frontal lobes affected. For instance, Stuss and Alexander (87) established that lesions on the right frontal lateral lobes interfere with the ability to monitor responses to a task.
How this research article informed future research on human behavior
The authors’ ability to establish the different roles played by the frontal lobes in memory raises questions on the possibility that different cognitive functions are played by frontal lobes, yet the frontal lobes are taken to be a homogenous functional unit. Future research should clearly establish the specific sub-regions of the frontal lobes that play distinctive functions in memory. Sample sizes for future studies should be larger so that their findings can be replicated and the anatomical regions involved in the different processes refined.
Overall assessment
The study was presented in a simple manner that helped the reader understand the controversy that has lingered over the role of the frontal lobes in memory. Most importantly, the authors ably convinced the reader that different regions of the frontal lobes play different roles in memory, as opposed to the traditional view that frontal lobes have a single functional role in memory.
Work Cited
Stuss, Donald T., and Alexander Michael P. “Does Damage to the Frontal Lobes Produce Impairment in Memory?” Current Directions in Psychological Science 14.2 (2005): 84-88. Print.
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