1. The prefrontal cortex
Biological Level of Analysis
Doryane Lemeunier

2. Content:
• A simple description of the location within the brain
• A general overview of the functions of the part of the brain
• Three studies involved with this part of the brain
• What happens when this part of the brain is dysfunctional?

3. A simple description of the location
within the brain
• A human brain. The prefrontal cortex is located
in the front part of the red section, which is the
frontal lobe.

4. A general overview of the functions of
the part of the brain
• regulates thoughts in terms of both short-term and long-term decision making.
• It allows to create strategies
• to adjust actions or reactions in changing situations
• allows humans to consider several different yet related lines of thinking when
learning or evaluating complex concepts or tasks.
• controls intense emotions and impulses
• inhibits inappropriate behaviors hence encourages wise, acceptable choices
• allow humans to balance immediate reward with long-term goals

5. What happens when this part of the brain
is dysfunctional?
• There is much current research devoted to understanding the role of the
prefrontal cortex in neurological disorders. Many disorders, such as
o schizophrenia,
o bipolar disorder,
o ADHD,
• have been related to dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, and thus this area of
the brain offers the potential for new treatments of these conditions (citation
needed). Clinical trials have begun on certain drugs that have been shown to
improve prefrontal cortex function, including guanfacine, which acts through the
alpha-2A adrenergic receptor. A downstream target of this drug, the HCN
channel, is one of the most recent areas of exploration in prefrontal cortex
pharmacology.
Here’s an interesting video

6. First study involved with this part of
the brain
• Shiv was curious whether “cognitive load” could influence selfcontrol, so he gave half of the subjects a two-digit number to
memorize (low load), while the other half were given a seven-digit
number (high load). Subjects were then instructed to walk to
another room in the building. On the way they passed by a table at
which they were presented with a choice between a caloric slice of
chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit salad. Fifty-nine percent of the
people trying to remember seven digits (high load) chose the cake,
while sixty-three percent of the two-digit subjects (low load) chose
the fruit salad. In other words, having people memorize an extra
five digits made them exhibit significantly less self-control.

7. WHY?
• Why did the number of digits have such a strong effect? Shiv
speculates that the effort required to memorize seven numbers
drew cognitive resources away from our ability to control our
urges. This makes anatomical sense, since working memory and
self-control are both located in our prefrontal cortex. Having to
remember seven numbers occupied neurons that would otherwise
help us decide what to eat, which causes us to become more reliant
on our impulsive emotions. While we tend to think of self-control as
being an innate trait, it is actually dependent on a range of extrinsic
factors, all of which affect the way our brain responds to a given
situation.

8. Second and third study involved with
this part of the brain
• Investigating the role of the prefrontal cortex in conscious
monitoring
http://mtl.fonoaud.utalca.cl/docs/work_papers/slachevsky.pdf
• Bump attractor dynamics in prefrontal cortex explains behavioral
precision in spatial working memory
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v17/n3/full/nn.3645.html