Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex is a part of the brain located at the front of the frontal lobe. It is implicated in a variety of complex behaviors, including planning, and greatly contributes to personality development.
ROLE OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
The prefrontal cortex helps people set and achieve goals. It receives input from multiple regions of the brain to process information and adapts accordingly. The prefrontal cortex contributes to a wide variety of executive functions, including:
- Focusing one’s attention
- Predicting the consequences of one’s actions; anticipating events in the environment
- Impulse control; managing emotional reactions
- Planning for the future
- Coordinating and adjusting complex behaviors (“I can’t do A until B happens”)
For an example of how these functions are tied together, let’s look at a man in a job interview. During the conversation, he has to focus on the interviewer and keep track of details the interviewer mentions. If the interviewer asks him a tough question, the man may get nervous. But the man can predict that running away will not get him the job, so he rejects that fearful impulse and asks for clarification around the question. The man can plan out his answers as he gets more information. Hopefully he can then ace the interview and get the job.
The prefrontal cortex also plays a big role in personality development. It helps people make conscious decisions according to their motivations. Over time, this can lead to certain tendencies in behavior, such as a person acting friendly toward others because they want to be popular. While the prefrontal cortex does not house a person’s entire self, it does contribute to the complex attitudes and choices that form a personality.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
The brain develops in a back to front pattern, and the prefrontal cortex is the last portion of the brain to fully develop. This does not mean that children do not have functional prefrontal cortices. Rather, they do not develop the complex decision-making and planning skills adults have until they are older.
During adolescence, the brain’s network of neurons develops many more synapses. These connections increase communication between parts of the brain and allow the individual to learn complex skills. However, this growth may happen unevenly.
For example, most fifteen-year-olds can assess hypothetical risk as well as adults. However, a teen’s prefrontal cortex has not grown many connections with the limbic system yet. In other words, the part of the brain that provides self-control can’t communicate well with the part of the brain that controls the fight or flight response. Thus, the same fifteen-year-old may act rashly under stress, even if they technically “know better.”
Experience plays a role in the development of the prefrontal cortex. Teens exposed to a variety of stimuli and challenges may “mature” more quickly. However, most neurologists agree that the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until around the age of 25.
PARTS OF PREFRONTAL CORTEX
The prefrontal cortex is located at the very front of the brain. It is part of the brain’s wrinkled outer layer called the cortex. In adults, the prefrontal cortex takes up nearly a third of this outer layer.
There are competing theories about how best to categorize the parts of the prefrontal cortex. The brain is very interconnected, both physically and functionally. It is difficult to point to a specific part of the brain and say that this section alone controls a certain ability.
In general, though, the prefrontal cortex can be divided into three parts according to which functions they serve.
- The medial prefrontal cortex contributes to attention and motivation. It can be thought of as a metaphorical start button, allowing people to begin an activity when it is time to do so. Lesions (i.e. injuries) in this area cause people to become apathetic and unfocused. They may have trouble acting spontaneously or initiating speech. They could also have trouble concentrating on a task once it has started.
- The orbital prefrontal cortex helps people control their impulses and ignore distractions. It helps them keep strong emotions in check in order to follow social rules. In one famous case, a man named Phineas Gage got an iron rod blown through his skull, injuring this area. Gage survived but displayed significant changes to his personality. He became irritable and reckless, growing prone to inappropriately crude humor. Research shows such changes are common when the orbital prefrontal cortex is injured.
- Lastly, the lateral prefrontal cortex allows people to create and execute plans. This region also helps individuals organize actions in a certain sequence, such as when a person needs to follow a recipe. Injuries to this region can interfere with people’s abilities to switch between tasks, recall where an instruction came from, or adapt to changes in rules.
References:
- Arain, M., Haque, M., Johal, L. Mathur, P. Nel, W. RAis, A., Sandhu, R., & Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 9(1), 449-461. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648
- Fuster, J. M. (2001, May 1). The prefrontal cortex—an update. Neuron, 30(2), 319-333. Retrieved from https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(01)00285-9
- Hathaway, W. R., & Newton, B. W. (2019, April 8). Neuroanatomy, prefrontal cortex. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499919
- Twomey, S. (2010). Phineas Gage: Neuroscience’s most famous patient. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067
Last Updated: 09-4-2019
- 36 comments
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Wailam Yau
February 5th, 2014 at 11:04 PMThat really helped me on my project about the roles
Thx -
Ashley
December 10th, 2015 at 8:41 AMI like your website. Nice info, and it was really helpful in my brain project. :)
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Steven
July 10th, 2017 at 2:15 AMI’d like to do your prefrontal cortex
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October 3rd, 2018 at 9:59 AMapple cider vineger
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Jan
April 28th, 2019 at 11:20 PMTanks. I have been on seratide aka prednisone puffer for years for allergic asthma. Clearly wrong. I ave many effects from it, eats away the prefrontal cortex and memory. It suppresses neurogenesis.
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Cynthia K
January 11th, 2016 at 9:39 PMAt what age does the prefrontal cortex START to develop? age 2?
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danny z
February 12th, 2017 at 7:18 PMage 3
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Amelie
March 1st, 2016 at 1:43 AMI like this website. Can you try to put it in easier words though?
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poorple
November 13th, 2016 at 7:27 PMstarts when your born
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'Denike
April 11th, 2016 at 4:33 AMThis is really helpful. can you write more on histology of the prefrontal cortex
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Myra
September 25th, 2016 at 12:11 PMGreat information. Thank you.
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Jennifer M C
October 7th, 2016 at 8:42 AMI was doing some research on Bi-Polar disorder, where I read that adults with Bi-Polar disorder have a smaller prefrontal cortex than adults who do not have the disorder. I read not only is the prefrontal cortex smaller, but it also works at a lower capacity, than an adult who does not have Bi-Polar disorder. I found that interesting and wanted to know more about the prefrontal cortex and it’s functions.
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Mayling Z.
August 10th, 2017 at 1:23 PMWhere did you find this information out? I am also doing a project on Bipolar disorder and would like to know more about your research.
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leah
October 23rd, 2016 at 6:57 PMdoes anyone know some facts about prefrontal cortex???
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feqiufewqhkubwe
October 30th, 2017 at 4:39 AMdire
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Timmy
December 18th, 2016 at 11:33 AMthis helped so much and i got an A
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Jake
January 6th, 2017 at 10:53 AMthis helped me so much on my project thx so much :)
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Susan
February 20th, 2017 at 6:41 AMIs there any way to develop the function of PFC ?
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Dona M.
April 28th, 2018 at 7:43 PMI sustained a TBI in Aug. Of 2013. I still have PCS, PTSD, PCA. I want to know what I can do to re gain short term memory. I have had every treatment recommended for Tbi. INclouding HBO
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Chelsea
April 10th, 2017 at 1:50 AMThis really helped me with my homework it told me more info than my teacher me !
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Yosemite
May 14th, 2017 at 5:37 PMWho is the author of this article?
If there is an author. -
The GoodTherapy.org Team
May 15th, 2017 at 10:16 AMHi Yosemite,
Our pages are written by freelancers or by members of our Editorial team. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out.
Kind regards,
The GoodTherapy.org Team -
Mj
June 15th, 2017 at 9:16 PMMy son has sever TBI at age 4mths and now he is 12yrs, i am finding big changes in hos emotional-anger out bursting ,possessing behaviour that only focused on outcomes of incident no initiative finding errors of whole picture and like 3 to 5yrs temper tantrum. I was doing a research and got to the area of frontlobe lesion= blPFC, vmPFT.
Need a help on explaining what that findings have related with prefrontal lesion and expected behaviour outcomes…
recently conducted Neuropsychological assessment done and foundings are, intellectual functioning is borderline range,measured by WISC-V
A significant discrepancy was noted between performance on measures of general comprehension skill and on tasks assessing working memory. A pairwise difference comparison analysis revealed that a discrepancy of this magnitude between indices is unusual, occurring in only 4.9% of the original standardisation sample of the measure.
Borderline to extremely low from the tests,
-●attention and processing speed
:○ability to transcribe symbols that correspond with simple geometric shapes( borderline.wisc-v, coding)
○ability to scan simple visual iinformation and make a gross motor response.(Borderline)
-●working memory,(borderline)
○ ability to hold and manipulate verbal information in immediate memory.
-●visual learning and memory,
○recall of geometric shapes and spatial location(borderline)
○incidental memory for a previously copied complex figure(extremely low, RCFT – immediate recall,delayed recall)
○recognition of items of the complex figure(extremely low, RCFT Recognition)
●Executive functioning
○mental flexibility on visuomotor switching task(extremely low, D-KEFT:trail making, number, letter sequencing)
○ability to logically plan and execute a copy of a ccomplex figure. -
Jazmine
October 23rd, 2017 at 4:46 PMthank you for the article, it helped SO much for my psych project!
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Ian miller
October 27th, 2017 at 2:17 PMI have ADHD which makes it so the prefrontal cortex developed much slower than normal so most symptoms like forgetfulness and sensitive emotions like an extreme reaction to disappointment match up although It does not affect my cognitive ability or much of my organization skills which is strange
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noope
November 8th, 2017 at 12:11 PMi hate meself
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Kristopher A
November 20th, 2017 at 6:16 PMThis really helped me thank you. Because of you I got an A
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Jake P.
January 25th, 2018 at 11:48 AMDab on the haters.
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Brenda
May 12th, 2019 at 10:02 PMOH MY GOD JAKE IS IT REALLY YOU?? I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!
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March 7th, 2018 at 9:36 AMnice article really helped with my essay
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Lucy H.
March 19th, 2018 at 5:50 AMIs Donald Trump’s Prefrontal Cortex fully functioning?
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O
October 15th, 2018 at 7:06 PMNo
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jo
December 21st, 2018 at 7:38 PMCompletely missing……
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Becky
June 6th, 2018 at 7:14 AMThis really helped me at 2 am trying to finish my 8 page psych paper on cults. Thanks
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Jarol
May 8th, 2019 at 6:16 PMWho is the author of this article?
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The GoodTherapy.org Team
May 9th, 2019 at 2:26 PMHi Jarol,
Thanks for visiting our Blog. There is no named author of this article. You can cite it simply as “GoodTherapy.” I hope this is helpful!
Kind Regards,
The GoodTherapy Team
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