All parts of the brain › Prefrontal cortex

Where is the prefrontal cortex?

The prefrontal cortex is the front part of the frontal lobe, behind the forehead and above the eyes, ahead of the motor and premotor areas. [1][2]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the prefrontal cortex is and what it does.

Slice

Opens cut by a side (sagittal) slice through the prefrontal cortex. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .

Its parts, each lit on its own page: superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex.

Part of the frontal lobe — see the whole of it lit.

Takes part in: memory, emotions, hunger, decision-making — see every part of each lit together.

Where it is

It is defined by its granular cortex, as distinct from the agranular motor and premotor areas behind it; Brodmann areas 8 to 14, 24, 25, 32 and 44 to 47 all belong to it. [1]
It is usually split into a dorsolateral part (areas 8, 9, 10, 46), a ventrolateral part (44, 45, 47), a ventral or orbital part on the underside (11, 13, 14) and a medial part facing the other hemisphere. [1]
On this model the prefrontal cortex is lit as the whole superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri plus the orbital gyri on the underside. That is an approximation: the back ends of the three outer gyri hold premotor cortex, which textbooks place outside the prefrontal cortex. [3][4]

What it does

Executive functions: adapting thinking to meet goals, planning, decision making and working memory. [1]
It serves cognitive functions that can be the basis of personality, short-term memory and consciousness. [2][1]
Its ventral part interconnects with brain regions involved with emotion. [1]

Connections

It receives projections from the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. [1]
It receives inputs from the brainstem arousal systems. [1]
It is highly interconnected with much of the brain: other cortical areas, subcortical structures and the brainstem. [1]

Other names

Abbreviated PFC. Its underside is the orbitofrontal cortex; the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is part of its medial and ventral surface. [1][5]

Size

It takes up a far larger share of the brain in humans than in any other animal. [1]
On this model the left prefrontal cortex measures about 116 mm front to back, 97 mm top to bottom and 61 mm side to side (the box it fits in, not its volume); the right one is its mirror image. [3]
Centre of the left prefrontal cortex compared with the centre of the left precentral gyrus: 49 mm further forward, 16 mm lower, 8 mm closer to the midline; 52 mm apart in a straight line. [3]
Centre of the left prefrontal cortex compared with the centre of the left thalamus: 43 mm further forward, 27 mm higher, 12 mm further from the midline; 52 mm apart in a straight line. [3]

Sources

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.