frontal lobe

(noun)

The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of mammals, located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and positioned anterior to the parietal lobe and superior and anterior to the temporal lobes. In humans, it contributes to a number of higher cognitive functions including attention, planning, and motivation.

Related Terms

Examples of frontal lobe in the following topics:

  • Cerebral Lobes

    • The cortex is divided into four main lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal.
    • The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex.
    • The frontal lobe is considered to contribute to our most human qualities.
    • The frontal lobes are the most uniquely human of all the brain structures.
    • The parietal lobe is a part of the brain positioned above (superior to) the occipital lobe and behind (posterior to) the frontal lobe.

  • Overview of the Cerebrum

    • Each hemisphere of the mammalian cerebral cortex can be broken down into four functionally and spatially defined lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.
    • The frontal lobe is located at the front of the brain, over the eyes, and contains the  olfactory bulb.
    • The frontal lobe also contains the motor cortex, which is important for planning and implementing movement.
    • These functions originate within the primary motor cortex and other frontal lobe motor areas where actions are planned.
    • Motor portions of language are attributed to Broca's area within the frontal lobe.

  • The Brain

    • Most of the expansion comes from the cerebral cortex, especially the frontal lobes, which are associated with executive functions such as self-control, planning, reasoning, and abstract thought.
    • Anatomists conventionally divide each hemisphere into four lobes: the frontal (control of specialized motor control, learning, planning, and speech), parietal (control of somatic sensory functions), occipital (control of vision), and temporal lobes (control of hearing and some speech).
    • The division into lobes does not actually arise from the structure of the cortex itself.
    • The only exception is the border between the frontal and parietal lobes, which is shifted backward from the corresponding suture to the central sulcus.
    • Demonstration of brain regions, including the four lobes and internal structures.

  • Association Areas

    • The parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, all located in the posterior part of the cortex, organize sensory information into a coherent perceptual model of our environment centered on our body image.
    • The frontal lobe or prefrontal association complex is involved in planning actions and movement, as well as abstract thought.
    • The processes of language expression and reception occur in areas other than just the perisylvian structures such as the prefrontal lobe, basal ganglia, cerebellum, pons, caudate nucleus, and others.

  • Cranial Bones

    • The neurocranium is comprised of eight bones: occipital, two temporal bones, two parietal bones, sphenoid, ethmoid, and the frontal bone.
    • The temporal bones are situated at the base and sides of the skull, lateral to the temporal lobes of the brain.
    • The greater wings form the floor of the middle cranial fossa that houses the frontal lobes and pituitary gland, and also the posterior wall of the orbit.
    • Inside the neurocranium it articulates with the frontal and sphenoid bones.
    • The frontal bone forms the front of the skull and is divided into three parts:

  • Foramina

    • The skull bones that contain foramina include the frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid, maxilla, palatine, temporal, and occipital lobes.
    • Supraorbital foramen: Located in the frontal bone, it allows passage of the supraorbital vein, artery, and nerve into the orbit.

  • Aging and the Nervous System

    • As the disorder progresses, cognitive (intellectual) impairment extends to the domains of language (aphasia), skilled movements (apraxia), recognition (agnosia), and those functions (such as decision-making and planning) closely related to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain as they become disconnected from the limbic system, reflecting extension of the underlying pathological process.

  • Stress and Disease

    • The regions of the brain involved in memory processing that are implicated in PTSD include the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal cortex, while the heightened stress response is likely to involve the thalamus, hypothalamus, and locus coeruleus.
    • Many areas of the brain appear to be involved in depression, including the frontal and temporal lobes and parts of the limbic system including the cingulate gyrus.
    • An increase in noradrenaline in the frontal/prefrontal cortex modulates the action of selective noradrenaline re-uptake inhibition and improves mood.
    • Increasing noradrenaline transmission to other areas of the frontal cortex modulates attention.

  • Lobes, Fissures, and Lobules

    • The lungs are located on either side of the heart and are separated by fissures into lobes, three in the right and two lobes in the left.
    • The right lung is divided into three lobes.
    • The upper lobe is the largest lobe of the right lung.
    • The middle lobe is the smallest lobe of the right lung, located between the horizontal and oblique fissures.
    • The lower lobe is the bottom lobe of the right lung.

  • Meninges

    • Starts from the frontal crest of frontal bone and the cristia galli running to the internal occipital protuberance.
    • Tentorium cerebelli, the second largest, crescent-shaped; separates the occipital lobes from cerebellum.