Multitasking, Word Retrieval, Memory, and Concentration

Think about the roles of successful executives in corporate life. They must anticipate the consequences of their actions (or inactions), plan and problem solve, create and organize information, motivate themselves and others, initiate and follow through on tasks, keep track of responsibilities, make sound decisions and execute them, behave appropriately, and respond quickly to change. 

The area of the brciin primarily responsible for executive functioning can be found in the frontal cortex. (The cortex is the wrinkly outer layer of the human brain, and the frontal portion, in particular, is much larger than in other animals.) People who demonstrate good executive functioning usually have strong connections between the frontal areas of the breiin and deeper brain circuits. Those connections lead to areas of the brain particularly important to memory and movement control. When those connections are impaired, we see deficits in the following  

This is where we might see socially inappropriate behavior, such as rude or offensive remarks, or wanting to kick yourself in the morning for not thinking through how your words or actions affected others. 

We store data in many places in the brain, in many different forms and representations. Sometimes people with problems in executive functioning do not manage or retrieve information well. We may not be able to demonstrate what we know, even if we have mastered the material. The good news is that the information is still in there somewhere, so if we improve or restore our executive function, we will find those memories again. As you will see, brain imaging in some post-chemo patients can actually reveal impaired connections. 

This function of the brain is devoted to comprehending language, to producing it verbally, to thinking of the right words to say, and to writing. It encompasses your syntax and how you use verbs and nouns in a sentence. Fluency is part of it—how quickly you think of words and say them. 

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Multitasking, Word Retrieval, Memory, and Concentration SHORT-TERM OR WORKING MEMORY... 

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