Problem-solving in real-life-type situations: the effects of anterior and posterior lesions on performance

Clinical studies have described patients who show marked impairments in eve ryday life, including planning, problem-solving and decision-making. Severa l factors potentially contribute to such impairments, including difficultie s in generating possible problem solutions, and difficulties in selecting a n appropriate solution. The present study describes the performance of part icipants with unilateral anterior or posterior lesions compared to healthy controls in ability to solve real-life-type problems. These covered a range of everyday interpersonal situations, and were presented both in video and story format. Participants also carried out a set of more abstract neurops ychological tests. Those with brain lesions showed impairment relative to c ontrols in both everyday problem-solving and on more abstract tests involvi ng executive function and memory. The anterior group was impaired on more a spects of everyday problem-solving than the posterior group, showing reduce d fluency in generating possible solutions, and also impairment in selectin g appropriate problem solutions. The implications of the findings for our u nderstanding of impairments in everyday life problem-solving after brain in jury are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.