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Utilization behavior: Clinical and theoretical approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2010

J. BESNARD ,
P. ALLAIN ,
G. AUBIN ,
F. OSIURAK ,
V. CHAUVIRÉ ,
F. ETCHARRY-BOUYX  and
D. LE GALL
J. BESNARD
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
P. ALLAIN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
G. AUBIN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France Regional Centre for Functional Rehabilitation, Angers, France
F. OSIURAK
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
V. CHAUVIRÉ
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
F. ETCHARRY-BOUYX
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
D. LE GALL*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Psychology (UPRES EA 2646), University of Angers, France Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Didier Le Gall, Neuropsychological Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Angers, France, 4, rue Larrey - 49033 Angers Cedex 01. E-mail: dilegall@chu-angers.fr
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Abstract

Lhermitte (1983) coined the term “utilization behavior” (UB) to define a neurobehavioral syndrome in which the visuo-tactile presentation of objects compels patients to grasp and use them, despite the fact that they have not been instructed to do so. The author suggested that UB was the consequence of frontal lobe damage. Thereafter, Shallice, Burgess, Schon, and Baxter (1989) questioned Lhermitte’s (1983) procedure for eliciting UB, putting forward an alternative research methodology that led to differentiate two forms of UB: “induced” and “incidental.” To date, there has been no direct comparison between these two procedures, nor have any other methodologies been used to explore this clinical sign, which is related to fundamental concepts such as free will and human autonomy. We investigated UB in 70 subjects (25 patients with frontal lobe lesions, 10 patients with posterior brain damage and 35 control subjects) using the methodologies of Lhermitte (1983) and Shallice et al. (1989), as well as an original “verbal generation” procedure. Our results show that the verbal generation procedure reveals UB efficiently and that elicitation of this sign appears to be directly linked to the content of the task. We discuss the interpretation of UB in terms of an executive control deficit. (JINS, 2010, 16, 453–462.)

Keywords

Utilization behaviorEnvironmental dependencyFrontal lobe lesionsExecutive functionsDysexecutive syndromeInhibitory control
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 453 - 462
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2010

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