Channelling Your Inner EXECUTIVE Functions

While most people think it is their memory that makes them who they are, science is teaching us that there is more to it than that. Higher-level brain processes, often called “executive functions,” help us handle nearly every aspect of our waking lives. When they function well, so do we.

Probably the most dramatic illustration of what we know about high-level brain processes comes from the real-life story of Phineas Gage. An American railway worker in the 1840s, Phineas was tragically injured when a rock explosion caused an iron rod to become embedded in the front part of his brain. Miraculously, Phineas survived, but this once congenial, easygoing and thoughtful man underwent a radical transformation. While recovering in hospital, he became increasingly erratic and confused, often exhibiting violent and irrational behaviours. His physicians drew the conclusion that the brain injury caused the drastic personality change, providing the evidence they needed to support a biological basis for behaviour. As a result, a whole new body of science was born.

Since those early days, scientists have fine-tuned our understanding of the brain. Dr. Don Stuss, the vice-president of research at Baycrest and the Reva James Leeds Chair in Neuroscience and Research Leadership, describes how research in the last decade alone has led to breakthroughs in our understanding of executive functions as processes located in the frontal lobes of the brain. “They give us the ability to plan, and maintain or monitor our actions, with the basic energy to sustain these tasks, and with the tools to process and manage our emotions,” he says. In essence, these functions are what make us human.

Researchers have constructed a model of the brain that layers executive functions with other parts of our mental operations, both within and beyond the frontal lobes.

When we need to start a project or task, it is our energization function that prompts our “get up and go.” This general activation system appears to be networked into the upper-middle part of the brain.

Dr. Don Stuss Our “executive functions” refer to two separate and distinct processes that help us organize our lives. The first of these is a tasksetting function that helps people set goals and get into the task. This function takes in what’s important to the situation: I’m hungry: I should eat. I’m on a trip: I should find a restaurant. These questions and answers appear to play out in the brain, somewhere behind the forehead on the left. The other executive function monitors and evaluates the situation: Have I found a good restaurant? Have I met my goal of eating? This goal-monitoring process seems to be stationed on the right side of our brains, mirroring the task-setting area.

Dr. Stuss notes that although task setting and evaluation could and should work closely together, they are in fact independent. For instance, our hungry traveler may easily locate several restaurants, but never be able to pick one – a problem with evaluation. How do I choose? They all look so good!

There is also a function that relates to emotional responsiveness and the regulation of our behaviour based on feedback from our emotions. This system is primarily located in the bottom part of the frontal lobes. When this area is damaged, individuals may be impulsive in social situations or have inappropriate emotional responses, such as becoming provoked for little reason.

Finally, there is a probable fourth function that has something to do with the integration of thinking and feeling, which is important for interpreting the feelings and thoughts of others. Studies show that damage to the very front part of the brain, the area behind the eyes, causes problems meshing thoughts with feelings. Meta-cognition, or the ability to think about thinking, can also become impaired. This also may lead to problems in social situations but for different reasons. These two latter functions are likely pivotal to what people call “emotional intelligence.”

executive functions Although all these functions appear to reside in the frontal lobes of our brains, they also work closely with other areas, says Dr. Morris Moscovitch, the Dr. Max and Gianna Glassman Chair in Neuropsychology and a senior scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute. However, these links are complex. For example, memory or attention can figure prominently in the ability to plan and evaluate a task, an “executive” function. So, it’s no surprise that a part of the brain located near the back of the head, which helps us pay attention, works closely with the tasksetting area in the frontal lobes. It is speculated that breakdowns in these connections play pivotal roles in everything from attention disorders to schizophrenia.

Executive functions vary from person to person. “They probably develop early, before adolescence, and run parallel with other abilities such as memory and language,” says Dr. Gordon Winocur, a Baycrest psychologist and senior scientist at The Rotman Research Institute. He adds that they may also develop at different rates.

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