The orbitofrontal cortex is the underside of each frontal lobe, the part of the prefrontal cortex that rests just above the eye sockets (orbits), which give it its name. [1]
On this model it is lit as the orbital gyri, one shape per side; the separate orbital gyri and Brodmann areas named below are not separate shapes. [2][1]
The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the orbitofrontal cortex is and what it does.
Slice
Opens cut by a front (coronal) slice through the orbitofrontal cortex. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .
It is a region of the prefrontal cortex on the bottom (orbital) surface of the frontal lobes. [1][3]
Its surface is split into gyri by sulci that most often form an “H” or a “K”: two sulci running front to back (the lateral and medial orbital sulci) joined by the transverse orbital sulcus. [1]
From the midline outward: the gyrus rectus, separated by the olfactory sulcus from the medial orbital gyrus, then the anterior, posterior and lateral orbital gyri. [1]
In humans it is made up of Brodmann areas 10, 11 and 47; area 47 is also the pars orbitalis of the inferior frontal gyrus, so the two overlap at its outer edge. People vary considerably in its layout. [1][4]
What it does
It is involved in decision-making and is thought to represent emotion, taste, smell and reward when choosing. [1]
Many roles have been proposed: encoding value, learning when the link between an action and its outcome changes, holding back responses, appraising emotion and guiding social behaviour. Each theory explains some findings and is contradicted by others. [1]
One proposal that ties these together is that it maps the “state” of a situation, the inner and outer features that define what will follow, which lets it switch rules quickly when outcomes change. [1]
It holds a secondary taste area: its response to a food falls as you eat your fill of that food (sensory-specific satiety). [1]
Connections
It receives input from the primary smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory) cortex, the secondary somatosensory cortex, and the superior and inferior temporal gyri, which carry visual information. [1]
Its back part is the most heavily connected with the amygdala and with sensory areas; its front part is less so and connects instead with the lateral prefrontal cortex and the parahippocampal region. [1]
It is defined as the part of the prefrontal cortex that receives projections from the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. [1]
Other names
OFC; on this model, the orbital gyri. It is closely related to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. [1]
Size
On this model the left orbitofrontal cortex measures about 67 mm front to back, 30 mm top to bottom and 40 mm side to side (the box it fits in, not its volume); the right one is its mirror image. [2]
Centre of the left orbitofrontal cortex compared with the centre of the left prefrontal cortex: 9 mm further forward, 33 mm lower, 9 mm closer to the midline; 35 mm apart in a straight line. [2]
Centre of the left orbitofrontal cortex compared with the centre of the left amygdala: 31 mm further forward, 9 mm higher, 10 mm closer to the midline; 34 mm apart in a straight line. [2]
Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); real brains vary in size and shape, so its measurements describe one model, not anyone’s brain.