What is the difference between the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex

When we have a long-term goal, for example, which we are pursuing with value-congruent action, we maintain a neural representation of that goal so as to not be distracted or influenced by competing goals or alternate values Grawe , If the PFC is damaged, it affects our personalities and the ability to orient our behaviour in line with our values and goals.

The PFC is vital to the sense of self and others necessary for healthy interpersonal relationships and decision making. As in the case of so many discoveries in neuroscience, we often learn what a brain area can do when it becomes damaged in some way. Phineas Gage was a young, reflective, determined, and goal-oriented man who, despite his youth, had been promoted to foreman on an American railroad construction project.

But in an unfortunate accident on September 13, , an explosion drove a tamping rod up through the left side of his face and out the top of his head. The rod passed through and destroyed much of his left PFC. Amazingly, Gage survived, and was even speaking within minutes of the accident. John Harlow:. The equilibrium or balance, so to speak, between his intellectual faculties and animal propensities, seems to have been destroyed.

He is fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity which was not previously his custom , manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinaciously obstinate, yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operations, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible.

A child in his intellectual capacity and manifestations, he has the animal passions of a strong man. Previous to his injury, although untrained in the schools, he possessed a well-balanced mind, and was looked upon by those who knew him as a shrewd, smart business man, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation. Harlow, , pp. Given a structured environment in which clear sequencing of tasks was part of the rehabilitation, Gage managed to retrain his brain to regulate itself in reference to values and goals.

The left and right sides of the PFC have different biases, with the left side oriented more toward approach, positive goals, and emotions, and the right side specialized more in avoidance and negative emotions. Individuals who appear to have a bias toward positive emotions may have a more activated left PFC, whereas right PFC activation is correlated with more negative emotional experiences. In studies of the neural correlates of depression , it has been found that left PFC activity is underactive relative to right PFC activity.

It seems that less access to the positive bias of the left PFC may make it more difficult for the depressed individual to engage in positive goal-oriented thought and behaviour. Studies have found that the depressed individual is generally more sensitive to what may be perceived as punishment and does not respond as well to rewards. Moreover, the relative underactivation of the whole PFC in depressed individuals could account for them having less motivation for planning, problem solving, creativity, and so forth.

In depression , not only is there underactivation of the PFC, but its volume has been found to be reduced as well. A depressed person with an underactive PFC of reduced volume is not going to demonstrate the rational problem solving abilities of someone without such deficits—the neural integrity to support such resilience is simply not there.

This is where the active, approach-oriented and positively biased PFC of a therapist can be of great value to the depressed client. We will discuss the supportive right brain-to-right brain activity of therapy further when we address specific psychopathologies. The PFC has been divided into a number of functionally distinct regions, described below.

The DLPFC is the topmost part of the PFC and is considered to have overall management of cognitive processes such as planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. This is an area specialising in problem solving and how to direct and maintain attention to a task. When we are focused on what is happening now, our working memory is engaged with the DLPFC and connecting with the hippocampus for the retrieval and consolidation of long-term explicit memories.

A dysfunction in this area may lead to problems with working memory, processing in the hippocampus , and long-term memory, as well as the integration of verbal expression with emotions. Other DLPFC deficits can manifest as a lack of spontaneity and affect flat rather than negative , and attention deficit—due to an inability to maintain sufficient attention to see a task through to completion.

In obsessive—compulsive disorder which we will consider separately in a later section the DLPFC plays an important role in strengthening attentional skills to momentarily break the compulsion circuit and give the orbitofrontal cortex a chance to inhibit the runaway activation of the amygdala. As with many brain regions, there are significant hemispherical differences within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , the left DLPFC being associated with approach behaviours and the right with more avoidant behaviours.

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex helps us make decisions based on the bigger picture gathered from connections to the amygdala , temporal lobe, ventral segmental area, olfactory system, and the thalamus. Orbitofrontal cortex OFC. The OFC , like the DLPFC , is involved in the cognitive processing of decision making; however, because of its close connection with the limbic system , it is particularly associated with our ability to make decisions based on emotional information.

The OFC also plays a major role in forming social attachments and regulating emotions. This region can be thought of as a convergence zone for sensory and emotional information, effectively integrating external and internal worlds. Social information is processed and used to guide us in our perceptions and interactions, and the OFC plays an important role in the interpretation of these complex social interactions, including, for example, the ability to understand a joke.

The OFC may help us predict the reactions of others and modulate our behaviour accordingly. When there is a dysfunction in the orbitofrontal cortex, the normal cortical—subcortical modulation is not optimal—as is likely the case in borderline personality disorder Schore, Ventromedial prefrontal cortex vmPFC.

This part of the PFC helps us make decisions based on the bigger picture gathered from connections to the amygdala , temporal lobe, ventral segmental area, olfactory system, and the thalamus. It is very well connected, receiving and sending a lot of information that influences many brain regions, including the amygdala.

It is also vital for personal and social decision making and the ability to learn from our mistakes. Our capacity to make judgements and allow our emotions to assist in decision making is mediated by this region of the brain. Activation of the vmPFC is also associated with courage, suppression of negative emotions, compassion, shame, and guilt. Learn more about the brain and psychotherapy from our…. Weekly free podcast about the science of psychotherapy. Interesting guests from around the world!

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This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Simply the fact that mindfulness necessarily activates the PFC, developing better PFC- to limbic control mechanisms and like anything that is practiced it becomes more rstablished. PFC activation becomes an easier default when there is a need to control emotional responses — in other words affect regulation becomes easier — enhanced.

You need a hug? My doctors name is Michelle and she is gorgeous. I have never met a Michelle who wasnt. So wait……this is why I couldnt decide between mustard or ketchup the other day???

The exact changes in Gage's personality, however, are now somewhat debated , and it is unclear if the damage he sustained was confined to the prefrontal or even frontal cortex. Even if we don't use Gage's case as a main piece of evidence to link the prefrontal cortex to executive functions, however, there are still a number of other case studies and a great deal of experimental evidence to support the connection. Patients with prefrontal cortex damage tend to perform poorly on tasks that require the use of long-term strategies and the inhibition of impulses.

They also often display short-term memory deficits, which may help to explain some of their difficulties in planning.

Patients with prefrontal cortex damage can experience blunted emotional responses, which may be another factor that negatively affects their ability to make decisions.

To understand how this works, just imagine the emotional reaction you might have to thinking about doing something you know is a bad idea—like cursing out your boss at work when you're angry. Really giving some consideration to doing this might cause you to get a bit anxious, and because this emotion doesn't feel good, it can help you make the probably wise decision to avoid the behavior.

Patients with damage to the prefrontal cortex sometimes display abnormalities in experiencing these types of emotional responses, which then presumably makes it more difficult for them to make good decisions. As I mentioned, a large region like the prefrontal cortex that has such dense interconnections to other areas of the brain undoubtedly has many functions some known and some not yet known beyond what I've mentioned here. Additionally, some argue that the category of executive functions is too broad to tie to one region of the brain.

Regardless, it is often implied that the prefrontal cortex contributes a great deal to making us who we are as individuals. According to this perspective, if you took away the prefrontal cortex we would be ruled by our desires and impulses, lacking an ability to plan for the future or think about the consequences of our actions.

The Organization of Cognition. Principles of Neural Science, 5th ed. The frontal lobe is located in the forward part of the brain, extending back to a fissure known as the central sulcus. The frontal lobe is involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language. For example, Padma was an electrical engineer who was socially active and a caring, involved mother.

She completely lost the ability to speak and form any kind of meaningful language. There is nothing wrong with her mouth or her vocal cords, but she is unable to produce words. She can do routine tasks like running to the market to buy milk, but she could not communicate verbally if a situation called for it. Figure 3. Probably the most famous case of frontal lobe damage is that of a man by the name of Phineas Gage. On September 13, , Gage age 25 was working as a railroad foreman in Vermont.

Although lying in a pool of his own blood with brain matter emerging from his head, Gage was conscious and able to get up, walk, and speak. But in the months following his accident, people noticed that his personality had changed. Many of his friends described him as no longer being himself.

Before the accident, it was said that Gage was a well-mannered, soft-spoken man, but he began to behave in odd and inappropriate ways after the accident. Such changes in personality would be consistent with loss of impulse control—a frontal lobe function. With connections between the planning functions of the frontal lobe and the emotional processes of the limbic system severed, Gage had difficulty controlling his emotional impulses.

On the basis of extremely limited information about Gage, the extent of his injury, and his life before and after the accident, scientists tended to find support for their own views, on whichever side of the debate they fell Macmillan, Figure 4. Specific body parts like the tongue or fingers are mapped onto certain areas of the brain including the primary motor cortex.

This strip running along the side of the brain is in charge of voluntary movements like waving goodbye, wiggling your eyebrows, and kissing.