# Frontal Regions and Executive Function Testing: A Doubted Association Shown by Brain-Injured Patients

## TL;DR

This study questions the link between frontal brain regions and executive functions by analyzing brain-injured patients.

## Contribution

The study challenges the specificity of executive function tests and their association with frontal brain regions.

## Key findings

- No significant differences in executive function test performance were found across brain injury subgroups.
- Executive function tests may not be specific enough to distinguish brain injury effects.
- The role of non-frontal associative brain areas in executive functions may be underestimated.

## Abstract

Since its introduction, the construct of executive functions (EFs) has been associated with a set of tests to assess these functions and a brain network centered in the associative frontal brain regions. While the majority of perspectives have endorsed these associations, some studies have started casting doubts on them. In this article, the association between the construct of EFs, the tests used to assess them, and the involvement of frontal regions is examined. A sample of 28 patients with brain injuries was divided into three subgroups according to the region of the injury (anterior, posterior, antero-posterior). Patients were assessed with a battery of tests, including 25 measures of EFs and 6 control measures. A series of regression models revealed no significant differences in performance across the three groups. Findings indicate that the EF tests are not specific enough to differentiate EFs and brain injuries. The alleged reference of EFs to the frontal areas of the brain should attribute a higher role to other associative areas. The present study provides recommendations about how the EFs concept could be improved through methodological refinements and/or its dissemination.