Glossary
Prefrontal cortex
What is the prefrontal cortex?
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the anterior portion of the frontal cortex. Its regions participate in networks involved in planning, working memory, decision-making and cognitive control.
Prefrontal cortex regions and functions
Different PFC regions have different connections and contributions. Miller and Cohen’s theory proposes that maintained representations of goals bias processing in other brain systems. This distributed account differs from treating the PFC as a single center of rationality.
Regions discussed in this research include dorsolateral, ventromedial and orbitofrontal areas. Miller and Cohen describe partly distinct but overlapping connections: lateral and dorsal regions receive extensive sensory information, while orbital and medial regions connect closely with systems involved in memory, affect and motivation. The regions also communicate with one another.
Applied example
Imagine a task that asks you to press a button for one color and withhold a response to another. Keeping the rule in mind helps guide the response. Tasks of this kind can help investigate goal-directed control. Observing a self-control difficulty in daily life does not by itself locate its cause in the PFC.
Why it matters
The PFC is important for studying goal-directed behavior in the context of wider brain networks. Its function cannot be reduced to one fixed capacity.
Prefrontal cortex development
There is no single age at which every prefrontal function becomes mature. A claim about development needs to specify the function or measure being studied.
Source: Miller and Cohen (2001) propose a network-based theory of prefrontal cognitive control.