Frontal-lobe cognitive dysfunction in conduct disorder adolescents

Behavioral similarities between antisocial behavior disorders and frontallobe cerebral impairment have led to suggestions that conduct disorders are attributable to disinhibition deficit associated with frontal‐lobe cerebral functions. This study compared the performance of 21 conduct disorder adolescents on measures of cognitive processes associated with frontal‐lobe functions with that of a matched comparison sample. Conduct disorder adolescents performed more poorly on measures sensitive to frontal‐lobe dysfunction (conceptual perseveration, poorly sustained attention, impaired sequencing on memory and motor tasks), but not on non‐frontal‐lobe specific cognitive measures. Although the findings support a neurobehavioral explanation of antisocial behavior as a product of cerebral disinhibition, caution is urged in overinterpreting causal relationships through neurobehavioral data.