Frontal lobe and memory disorder - Relationship with recency memory

The association of memory disorder with damage of the frontal association area has long been a subject of debate. In this paper, the disorder of ''recency memory'' as a primary frontal memory function is discussed based on the data of our previous studies. The authors have examined recency memory by devising a modified recency-recognition test and a location identification test, which, apart from investigating a spatial relationship, possessed exactly the same structure as the recency rest. The results of patients with frontal lobe damage in both tests were markedly low and frontal lobe-damaged patients also showed a strong positive correlation in test results between these two tests. These findings suggest that a common factor may be responsible for the lowered performance in the recency and the location identification tests, and that there is a problem in interpreting a lowered recency test performance as a disorder of the recency memory.