The term “Executive Functions” refers to the higher-level cognitive skills you use to control and coordinate your other cognitive abilities and behaviors.
Executive deficits have been associated with damage to the most forward areas of the frontal lobes (located just above your eyes), as well as the cortical and subcortical structures that connect to the frontal lobes.
Executive function deficits are associated with frontotemporal dementia and a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, depression, schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism and addiction.
