Anil Nayak, Dominic Barandica, Jeanne Lee

Through the study of Greg F, it can be seen that although the frontal lobe is only a small part of the brain, it plays an important role in our daily lives and how we are perceived and integrated into society. Damage to it results in loss of memory, anosognosia, a lack of motivation and possibly even more symptoms and based on these symptoms we can link the frontal lobe to consciousness. This conclusion can be discovered with just one combination of symptoms. If other cases were studied where the patient had other combinations of symptoms or the damage had occurred in some other way, who knows what else we can learn? We are sure to see a multitude of social responses united by the cultural aspect of caring for the sick.  This goes to show how complex the frontal lobe is in an even more complicated brain.

That said, the frontal lobe does not exclusively seem to be crucial for survival: even with irreversible damage to a large portion of both frontal lobes, an individual is capable of an astonishing level of thinking. The problem does not lie in a diminished ability to survive (performing involuntary tasks like breathing as well as voluntary activities such as eating), but in a decreased sense of identity. Although it is true the frontal lobe is not the only region of the brain that participates in tasks related to memory, namely storage and future reference of the memory, the frontal lobe appears to be critical to integrating the memories in the long term. Without the ability to create new memories to reflect upon, it is virtually impossible to develop a sense of identity — an individual will only be who they were up until the event that caused the incapacity to form new memories, and will remain this way for the rest of their life.

Lasting Thoughts?