Assessment of creative thinking and executive functions in patients with frontal lobe meningioma

Objective: To describe the effect of a pathology such as a meningioma-type tumor in the frontal lobe on executive functions (EF) and creative thinking, as well as determining if differences are found according to their hemispheric location and by frontal regions (medial, dorsolateral and orbitofrontal).Methods: 12 patients with frontal meningioma and 12 controls were evaluated with EF tests.For creative thinking, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was used in its two verbal and figural dimensions.Results: In the comparison between patients and controls, no significant differences were observed in the scores of the TTCT.In the EF, differences were found in the components of visuospatial working memory, semantic fluency, inhibition, flexibility, abstraction, and processing speed.Regarding the laterality of the tumor, patients showed a greater deterioration in flexibility and inhibition components when the tumor was located in the left hemisphere.According to the frontal regions, when the tumor was located in the dorsolateral and orbitofrontal regions, it impaired performance in cognitive flexibility and decision-making.In the properties of elaboration and abstraction of titles of the figural scale of the TTCT, patients presented poor performance when the tumor was located in the dorsolateral region, compared to the medial region.Significant relationships were found between visuospatial working memory and the properties of the creative thinking test.Conclusions: Changes were observed in patients with frontal tumors in the evaluated processes due to the structural and functional compromise caused by its location.