prefrontal cortex

Examples of prefrontal cortex in the following topics:

• Executive Function and Control

  • Though prefrontal regions of the brain are necessary for executive function, it seems that non-frontal regions come into play as well.
  • Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: associated with verbal and design fluency, set shifts, planning, response inhibition, working memory, organizational skills, reasoning, problem solving, and abstract thinking.
  • Anterior cingulate cortex: inhibition of inappropriate responses, decision making, and motivated behaviors.
  • Orbitofrontal cortex: impulse control, maintenance of set, monitoring ongoing behavior, socially appropriate behavior, representing the value of rewards of sensory stimuli.
  • The different parts of the prefrontal cortex are vital to executive function.

• Neural Correlates of Memory Storage

  • Recent functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging (fMRI) studies detected working memory signals in the medial temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex.
  • Activity in different lobes of the cerebral cortex have been linked to the formation of memories.
  • Short-term memory is supported by brief patterns of neural communication that are dependent on regions of the prefrontal cortex, frontal lobe, and parietal lobe.
  • The hippocampus receives input from different parts of the cortex and sends output to various areas of the brain.
  • The processes of consolidating and storing long-term memories have been particularly associated with the prefrontal cortex, cerebrum, frontal lobe, and medial temporal lobe.

• Describing Consciousness

  • Higher brain areas are more widely accepted as necessary for consciousness to occur, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in a range of higher cognitive functions collectively known as executive functions.
  • This image shows the location of the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain heavily involved in consciousness.

• Introduction to Sleep

  • Numerous studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation can adversely affect brain growth and cognitive functions. fMRI studies performed on sleep-deprived subjects show that regions of the brain's prefrontal cortex, an area that supports mental faculties such as working memory and logical reasoning, displayed more activity in sleepier subjects.
  • The negative effects of sleep deprivation on alertness and cognitive performance suggest decreases in brain activity and function, primarily in the thalamus, a structure involved in alertness and attention, and in the prefrontal cortex, a region sub-serving alertness, attention, and higher-order cognitive processes.

• Neural Underpinnings of Consciousness

  • Several studies have demonstrated that activity in primary sensory areas of the brain is not sufficient to produce consciousness: it is possible for subjects to report a lack of awareness even when areas such as the primary visual cortex show clear electrical responses to a stimulus.
  • Higher brain areas are seen as more promising, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in a range of executive (higher-order) functions.
  • There is substantial evidence that a "top-down" flow of neural activity (i.e., activity propagating from the frontal cortex to sensory areas) is more predictive of consciousness than a "bottom-up" flow of activity.
  • The prefrontal cortex is not the only candidate area, however: studies have shown that visually responsive neurons in parts of the temporal lobe reflect the visual perception in the situation when conflicting visual images are presented to different eyes.

• Cognitive Development in Adolescence

  • Development of executive functions, or cognitive skills that enable the control and coordination of thoughts and behavior, are generally associated with the prefrontal cortex area of the brain.

• Etiology of Schizophrenia

  • The first is the mesolimbic system, which affects areas regulating reward pathways and emotional processes; the second is the mesocortical system, which affects the prefrontal cortex, areas that regulate cognitive processing, and areas involved with motor control.
  • Disregulation of neurotransmitters in the association cortex may explain why people with schizophrenia are not able to properly sort or filter information.

• Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

  • IED may also be associated with lesions in the prefrontal cortex, with damage to these areas, including the amygdala, increasing the incidence of impulsive and aggressive behavior and the inability to predict the outcomes of an individual's own actions.

• Psychosurgery

  • Subcaudate tractotomy is a surgery to sever the fibers connecting the orbitofrontal cortex to the hypothalamus.
  • A leucotomy is the cutting of white nerve fibers in the brain, and is also known as a prefrontal lobotomy.
  • Watts devised what became the standard prefrontal procedure and named their operative technique "lobotomy."

• Cerebral Cortex

  • The cerebral cortex is the outermost layered structure of the brain and controls higher brain functions such as information processing.
  • The cerebral cortex, the largest part of the mammalian brain, is the wrinkly gray outer covering of the cerebrum.
  • The cerebral cortex is considered the ultimate control and information-processing center in the brain.
  • The cortex is wrinkly in appearance.
  • Beneath the cerebral cortex is the cerebrum, which serves as the main thought and control center of the brain.