The FrSBe fills a gap in the assessment of frontal systems behavioral syndromes by providing a means to identify and quantify disordered natural behavior so that problems may be targeted for treatment.

Features and benefits

• Provides a brief, reliable, and valid measure of three frontal systems behavioral syndromes: apathy, disinhibition, and executive dysfunction.
• Quantifies behavioral changes over time by including both baseline (retrospective) and current assessments of behavior.
• Includes a total score as well as scores on three subscales that correspond to the three frontal systems behavioral syndromes.

Test structure

• This 46-item behavior rating scale is much easier and less time-consuming to administer than a neuropsychological test battery.
• Two hand-scorable, carbonless test booklets (self and family) are available. Items are written at a sixth-grade reading level. Two profile forms (self and family) allow comparisons of behaviors pre- and post-injury/illness.

Technical information

Normative data are derived from a community-based sample of 436 men and women for two levels of education; data are also provided for several clinical groups, including patients with frontotemporal dementia, frontal lesions, nonfrontal stroke, head injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

A comprehensive list of research articles related to the FrSBe is available via Mendeley, a free reference management tool. After accessing the link, you will be prompted to create an account. A white paper describing how to use this research repository can be found here. Use of this resource is encouraged to facilitate research using the FrSBe. Both the list and the white paper are available in the Resources tab above.