Prefrontal cortex
1967493
222731548
2008-06-30T20:56:58Z
Tkgd2007
2934677
new image that highlights the prefrontal cortex
{{redirect|Prefrontal|the [[skull]] [[bone]]|Prefrontal bone}}
{{Infobox Brain|
Name = Prefrontal cortex |
Latin = |
GraySubject = |
GrayPage = |
Image = Gray726-Brodman-prefrontal.svg |
Caption = [[Brodmann areas]] of lateral surface. Per BrainInfo, parts of #8, #9, #10, #11, #44, #45, #46, and #47 are all in the prefrontal region. |
Image2 = |
Caption2 = |
Width = 300 |
IsPartOf = [[Frontal lobe]]|
Components = [[Superior frontal gyrus]] <br/> [[Middle frontal gyrus]] <br/> [[Inferior frontal gyrus]]|
Artery = [[Anterior cerebral artery|Anterior cerebral]] <br/> [[Middle cerebral artery|Middle cerebral]]|
Vein = [[Superior sagittal sinus]]|
BrainInfoType = ancil |
BrainInfoNumber = 101 |
MeshName = Prefrontal+Cortex |
MeshNumber = A08.186.211.730.885.213.270.700 |
}}
The '''prefrontal cortex''' is the [[anterior]] part of the [[frontal lobes]] of the brain, lying in front of the [[primary motor cortex|motor]] and [[premotor cortex|premotor]] areas. In terms of its [[cytoarchitectonics|cytoarchitectonics]], the prefrontal cortex is defined by the presence of an [[cerebral cortex|internal granular layer IV]] (in contrast to the agranular [[Brodmann area 6|premotor cortex]]). The prefrontal cortex can be divided in several ways, one of which is into three basic areas:
* The [[Orbitofrontal cortex|orbitofrontal]] (OFC) and [[Ventromedial prefrontal cortex|ventromedial]] areas (vm-PFC);
* the [[dorsolateral prefrontal cortex]] (dl-PFC);
* the anterior and ventral [[cingulate cortex]].<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12479840 Contributions of the prefrontal cortex to the neur...[Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2002] - PubMed Result<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><br />
Other areas that can be distinguished are the [[ventrolateral cortex]] (vl-PFC), the [[medial prefrontal cortex]] (m-PFC), and the [[anterior prefrontal cortex]] (a-PFC).
This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, and moderating correct social behavior. The basic activity of this brain region is considered to be orchestration of thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals.
The most typical [[neurology|neurologic]] term for functions carried out by the pre-frontal cortex area is [[executive system|executive function]]. Executive function relates to abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social "control" (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially-unacceptable outcomes).
Many authors have indicated an integral link between a person's personality and the functions of the prefrontal cortex.
==Brain linkages==
The prefrontal cortex has a high number of interconnections between both the [[brain stem|brainstem]]'s [[reticular activating system|Reticular Activating System]] (RAS) and the [[limbic system]]. As a result, the centers in the prefrontal cortex depend significantly on high levels of alertness, and emotional linkages with deeper brain structures related to control of pleasure, pain, anger, rage, panic, aggression (fight-flight-freeze responses), and basic sexual responses.
==Studies==
Perhaps the seminal case in prefrontal cortex function is that of [[Phineas Gage]], whose personality may have changed after an 1848 accident destroyed one or both frontal lobes. The standard presentation (e.g. <ref>[[Antonio Damasio]], ''[[Descartes' Error]]''. [[Penguin Putman Pub.]], [[1994]]</ref>) is that although Gage retained normal memory, speech and motor skills, his personality changed radically. He became irritable, quick-tempered, and impatient, characteristics that he previously did not exhibit, so that friends described him as "no longer Gage." And whereas he had previously been a capable and efficient worker, afterwards he was unable to complete the multiple tasks that he started. However, careful analysis of primary evidence shows that descriptions of Gage's psychological changes are usually exaggerated, the most striking feature being that changes described years after his death are far more dramatic than anything reported while he was alive <ref>Malcolm Macmillan, ''An Odd Kind of Fame: Stories of Phineas Gage'' (MIT Press, 2000), pp.116-119, 307-333, esp. pp.11,333.</ref>.
Subsequent studies, on patients with prefrontal injuries, have shown that the patients verbalized what the most appropriate social responses would be under certain circumstances, yet, when actually performing, they instead pursued behavior that is aimed at immediate gratification despite knowing the longer-term results would be self-defeating.
The interpretation of this data indicates that not only are skills of comparison and understanding of eventual outcomes harbored in the prefrontal cortex but the prefrontal cortex (when functioning correctly) controls the mental option to delay immediate gratification for a better or more rewarding longer-term gratification result. This ability to wait for a reward is one of the key pieces that define optimal executive function of the human brain.
There is much current research devoted to understanding the role of the prefrontal cortex in neurological disorders. Many diseases, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ADHD, have been related to dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, and thus this area of the brain offers the potential for new treatments of these diseases. Clinical trials have begun around certain drugs that have been shown to improve prefrontal cortex function, including [[guanfacine]] which acts through the [[alpha2A adrenergic receptor]]. A downstream target of this drug, the [[HCN channel]], is one of the most recent areas of exploration in prefrontal cortex pharmacology.{{fact|date=May 2008}}
==Other disorders==
In the last few decades, [[neuroimaging|brain imaging]] systems have been used to determine brain region volumes and nerve linkages. Several studies have indicated that reduced volume and interconnections of the frontal lobes with other brain regions is common in those with depression, people subjected to repeated stressors,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Liston C et al |title=Stress-induced alterations in prefrontal cortical dendritic morphology predict selective impairments in perceptual attentional set-shifting |journal=J Neurosci |volume=26 |issue=30 |pages=7870–4 |year=2006 |pmid=16870732 |doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1184-06.2006}}</ref> suicide victims,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rajkowska G |title=Morphometric methods for studying the prefrontal cortex in suicide victims and psychiatric patients |journal=Ann N Y Acad Sci |volume=836 |issue= |pages=253–68 |year= |pmid=9616803 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb52364.x}}</ref> incarcerated criminals, sociopaths, and drug addicts. It is believed that at least some of the human abilities to feel guilt or remorse, and to interpret reality, lie in the prefrontal cortex.{{fact|date=October 2007}} It is also widely believed that the size and number of connections in the prefrontal cortex relates directly to sentience, as the prefrontal cortex in humans occupies a far larger percentage of the brain than any other animal. Additionally, as the brain has tripled in size over 5 million years of human evolution, the prefrontal cortex had increased in size sixfold.
==References==
<references/>
* [[Richard M. Burton]], ''The Anatomy, Chemistry and Genetics of Human Behavior'', Newport. 1996.
* {{cite journal |author=Miller EK, Cohen JD |title=An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function |journal=Annu Rev Neurosci |volume=24 |issue= |pages=167–202 |year=2001 |pmid=11283309 |doi=10.1146/annurev.neuro.24.1.167}}
* {{cite journal |author=Lebedev M et al |title=Representation of attended versus remembered locations in prefrontal cortex |journal=[[PLoS Biology]] |volume=2 |issue=11 |pages=e365 |year=2004 |pmid=15510225 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020365}}
* Fuster JM (1997) The Prefrontal Cortex: Anatomy, physiology, and neuropsychology of the frontal lobe, 2 Edition: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
* Michael Anissimov (2008) What is the Prefrontal Cortex?, Conjecture Corporation, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-prefrontal-cortex.htm
==See also==
* [[Attention versus memory in prefrontal cortex]]
==External links==
* [http://bama.ua.edu/~sprentic/672%20aggression-brain.jpg Diagram (ua.edu)]
* [http://universe-review.ca/I10-80-prefrontal.jpg Diagram (universe-review.ca)]
* {{BrainMaps|Prefrontal%20cortex|Prefrontal cortex}}
{{Prosencephalon}}
[[Category:Cerebrum]]
[[de:Präfrontaler Cortex]]
[[nl:Prefrontale cortex]]
[[simple:Prefrontal cortex]]
<br />