6002: The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind

About the Course:

This is the first book about the frontal lobes targeting both professionals and the general educated public. It offers a highly innovative perspective on many central issues of neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. It offers a state-of-the-art review of the role of the frontal lobes in cognition and behavior. The book also touches upon broader issues of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. 

These include the functional organization of the brain; hemispheric specialization; gender differences in cognition; the neuropsychology of individual differences and creativity; the neuropsychology of criminal behavior and other topics. Broad parallels between the evolution of society and the evolution of the brain and technology are discussed. The book includes fascinating clinical case studies. The book also contains unique personal accounts about the author’s work with the late Alexandr Romanovich Luria, to whom the book is dedicated.

Author

Goldberg, Elkhonon, Ph.D.

About the Author:

Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., ABPP/ABCN, is Director of The Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Performance and Director, The East-West Science and Education Foundation. He is a Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology / American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology, with over 20 years of experience in neuropsychological diagnosis, cognitive rehabilitation, and forensic neuropsychology. Dr. Goldberg is internationally renowned for his clinical work, research, writings and teaching in the area of clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. His areas of expertise include executive deficit, memory disorders, attention deficit disorder, dementia, traumatic brain injury, and others. Dr. Goldberg was a student and close associate of the great neuropsychologist Alexander Luria. Elkhonon Goldberg is a Clinical Professor of Neurology, NYU Medical Center.

Course Objectives:

1. to understand how the frontal lobes enable us to engage in complex mental processes

2. to understand how the frontal lobes control our judgment and our social and ehtical behaviors

3. to understand the vulnerability of the frontal lobes to injury and devastating effect it can have on behavior, emotions, and personality

4. to understand critical aspects of hemisphere differentiation 

5. to explore research and new ways to look at cerebral organization