In this article I critically review the concept
of the central executive. I argue that the experimental
evidence for a central executive lacks rigor to the point
where it is an unfalsifiable construct. I examine the neuropsychological
and neuroradiological evidence and demonstrate that there
is no localization evidence for a central executive. What
emerges instead is a pattern of extensive heterogeneity
with different executive tasks associated with different
neural substrates. In sum it is argued that the idea of
a central executive should be abandoned, and, from a neuropsychological
perspective, tests that purport to measure executive function
should do so in a qualitative way rather than assume that
a range of tests load on a unitary dimension of performance.
(JINS, 1998, 4, 518–522.)