Influence of improved text encoding on arithmetical word problem-solving after frontal lobe damage

In neuropsychological research the poor encoding of problem givens has been anecdotally reported as a factor contributing to poor arithmetical word problem-solving after frontal and left posterior brain damage. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a cueing procedure aimed at the improvement of two basic text encoding skills-sentence translation and problem-schema understanding-can ameliorate arithmetical-word problem-solving. The results indicate that the cueing procedure improves the solving performance of frontal patients but not of patients with left posterior lesions. This suggests that the encoding deficit differs in these groups. The nature of the encoding problem of both groups is discussed and some implications for treatment are suggested. Although frontal patients improve their word problem-solving performance after the cueing of verbal information, they are not able to utilise the cueing procedure spontaneously.