Lateral prefrontal cortex: architectonic and functional organization

Lateral Prefrontal Cortex

Region of the brain involved in higher-order cognitive control and the organization of complex behavioral processes. This area is crucial for tasks that require planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior, and it plays a significant role in working memory and executive function.

Rostral-Caudal Axis

An organizational axis in the lateral prefrontal cortex indicating functional differentiation along the front-back direction.

Dorsal-Ventral Axis

Another organizational axis in the mid-lateral prefrontal region, reflecting differentiation of cognitive processing functions.

Cytoarchitecture

The study of the cellular composition of the cortex in different brain areas and species.

Brodmann Areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex defined by their distinct cellular organization, identified by Korbinian Brodmann.

Conditional Operations

Cognitive processes where responses are selected based on specific conditions or cues.

Working Memory

The capacity to hold and manipulate information over short periods, primarily monitored by the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Executive Function

High-level cognitive processes involved in the management of thought and action, residing largely in the prefrontal cortex.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum, involved in numerous high-level functions including perception and cognition.

Comparative Neuroscience

A field of study that compares the nervous systems of different species, such as humans and monkeys, to understand brain function.

Mid-Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

• involved in the monitoring of information in working memory

• cognitive control - maintaining and manipulating information over short period

• essential for tasks that require sustained attention and the ability to update information

Mid-Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex

• active judgments

• retrieval of information

• accessing stored memories

specialisation of mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex

• the right mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is engaged during non-verbal memory retrieval,

• the left hemisphere is more involved in verbal episodic and semantic retrieva

executive functions

the prefrontal cortex

• planning,

• decision-making,

• problem-solving,

• the ability to switch between tasks

the caudal lateral prefrontal region

involved in selecting among multiple competing response (critical for adaptive behaviours)

integration of information

the prefrontal cortex

• integrates information from various sensory modalities and other brain regions, allowing for a cohesive understanding of the environmen

conditional allocation of attention

caudal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

• competing stimuli,

• allowing for flexible switching between different stimuli