Bridging experimental neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology: Fluid intelligence in frontal lobe assessments

Abstract

This viewpoint explores the gap between theoretical frameworks in experimental neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology. It highlights how John Duncan's theory of the Multiple Demand (MD) system, which links the frontal lobe to fluid intelligence (g), helps explain general performance on classical executive tests. However, it also discusses how traditional scores often fail to capture the complexity of behaviours associated with frontal lobe damage, and we suggest that developing improved scoring methods could be useful for integrating experimental and clinical neuropsychology insights.

Keywords: Clinical neuropsychology; Cognitive neuroscience; Executive functions; Fluid intelligence; Frontal lobe; Multiple demand system.