most often associated with the particular regions of the prefrontal cortex and associated areas. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is involved with "on-line" processing of information such as integrating different dimensions of cognition and behavior. As such, this area has been found to be associated with verbal and design fluency, ability to maintain and shift set, planning, response inhibition, working memory, organisational skills, reasoning, problem-solving, and abstract thinking. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in emotional drives, experience and integration. Associated cognitive functions include inhibition of inappropriate responses, decision making and motivated behaviors. Lesions in this area can lead to low drive states such as apathy, abulia or akinetic mutism and may also result in low drive states for such basic needs as food or drink and possibly decreased interest in social or vocational activities and sex. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a key role in impulse control, maintenance of set, monitoring ongoing behavior and socially appropriate behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex also has roles in representing the value of rewards based on sensory stimuli and evaluating subjective emotional experiences. Lesions can cause disinhibition, impulsivity, aggressive outbursts, sexual promiscuity and antisocial behavior. Furthermore, in their review, Alvarez and Emory state that: "The frontal lobes have multiple connections to cortical, subcortical and brain stem sites. The basis of 'higher-level' cognitive functions such as inhibition, flexibility of thinking, problem solving, planning, impulse control, concept formation, abstract thinking, and creativity often arise from much simpler, 'lower-level' forms of cognition and behavior. Thus, the concept of executive function must be broad enough to include anatomical structures that represent a diverse and diffuse portion of the central nervous system." The cerebellum also appears to be involved in mediating certain executive functions, as do the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra. Hypothesized role The executive system is thought to be heavily involved in handling novel situations outside the domain of some of our 'automatic' psychological processes that could be explained by the reproduction of learned schemas or set behaviors. Psychologists Don Norman and Tim Shallice have outlined five types of situations in which routine activation of behavior would not be sufficient for optimal performance: Those that involve planning or decision-making Those that involve error correction or troubleshooting Situations where responses are not well-rehearsed or contain novel sequences of actions Dangerous or technically difficult situations Situations that require the overcoming of a strong habitual response or