The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC or DLPFC), according to a more restricted definition, is roughly equivalent to Brodmann area

Brodmann area

A Brodmann area is a region of the cerebral cortex defined based on its cytoarchitectonics, or structure and organization of cells.-History:...

s 9

Brodmann area 9

-Human:Brodmann area 9, or BA9, is part of the frontal cortex in the human brain. It contributes to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.-Guenon:The term Brodmann area 9 refers to a cytoarchitecturally defined portion of the frontal lobe of the guenon...

 and 46

Brodmann area 46

Brodmann area 46, or BA46, is part of the frontal cortex in the human brain. It is between BA10 and BA45.BA46 is known as middle frontal area 46. In the human brain it occupies approximately the middle third of the middle frontal gyrus and the most rostral portion of the inferior frontal gyrus...

. According to a broader definition DL-PFC consists of the lateral portions of Brodmann areas 9 – 12, of areas 45, 46, and the superior part of area 47. These regions mainly receive their blood supply from the middle cerebral artery

Middle cerebral artery

-External links:*...

. With respect to neurotransmitter systems, there is evidence that dopamine

Dopamine

Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...

 plays a particularly important role in DL-PFC.

DL-PFC is connected to the orbitofrontal cortex

Orbitofrontal cortex

The orbitofrontal cortex is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes in the brain which is involved in the cognitive processing of decision-making...

, and to a variety of brain areas, which include the thalamus

Thalamus

The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections...

, parts of the basal ganglia

Basal ganglia

The basal ganglia are a group of nuclei of varied origin in the brains of vertebrates that act as a cohesive functional unit. They are situated at the base of the forebrain and are strongly connected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and other brain areas...

 (the dorsal caudate nucleus

Caudate nucleus

The caudate nucleus is a nucleus located within the basal ganglia of the brains of many animal species. The caudate nucleus is an important part of the brain's learning and memory system.-Anatomy:...

), the hippocampus

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...

, and primary and secondary association areas of neocortex

Neocortex

The neocortex , also called the neopallium and isocortex , is a part of the brain of mammals. It is the outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres, and made up of six layers, labelled I to VI...

, including posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital areas.

DL-PFC is the last area, 45th, to develop myelinate

Myelinogenesis

Myelinogenesis is the process of sequential myelination or development of a myelin sheaths around nerve fibres of the central nervous system.- Function :...

 in the human cerebrum.

Function

DL-PFC serves as the highest cortical area responsible for motor planning, organization, and regulation. It plays an important role in the integration of sensory and mnemonic information and the regulation of intellectual function and action. It is also involved in working memory

Working memory

Working memory has been defined as the system which actively holds information in the mind to do verbal and nonverbal tasks such as reasoning and comprehension, and to make it available for further information processing...

. However, DL-PFC is not exclusively responsible for the executive functions. All complex mental activity requires the additional cortical and subcortical circuits with which the DL-PFC is connected.

Damage to the DL-PFC can result in the dysexecutive syndrome

Dysexecutive syndrome

Dysexecutive syndrome consists of a group of symptoms, usually resulting from brain damage, that fall into cognitive, behavioural and emotional categories and tend to occur together. The term was introduced by Alan Baddeley to describe a common pattern of dysfunction in executive functions, such...

, which leads to problems with affect

Affect (psychology)

Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" .The affective domain...

, social judgement, executive memory,
abstract thinking and intentionality

Intentionality

The term intentionality was introduced by Jeremy Bentham as a principle of utility in his doctrine of consciousness for the purpose of distinguishing acts that are intentional and acts that are not...

.

Truth Telling

The DL-PFC may also be involved in the act of deception and lying, which is thought to inhibit normal propensity to truth telling. Research suggests that by using TMS

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain...

 on the DL-PFC can hamper a person's ability to lie, or indeed to tell the truth.

Lucid dream states

More recent research has found a connection between the DL-PFC and lucid dream states in which executive function is retained.

See also

• Mesocortical pathway
  Mesocortical pathway
  The mesocortical pathway is a neural pathway that connects the ventral tegmentum to the cerebral cortex, particularly the frontal lobes. It is one of the four major dopamine pathways in the brain...
  
  
• Cognitive control
• Working memory
  Working memory
  Working memory has been defined as the system which actively holds information in the mind to do verbal and nonverbal tasks such as reasoning and comprehension, and to make it available for further information processing...
  
  
• Attention versus memory in prefrontal cortex
  Attention versus memory in prefrontal cortex
  A widely accepted theory regarding the function of the brain's prefrontal cortex is that it serves as a store of short-term memory. This idea was first formulated by Jacobsen, who reported in 1935 that damage to the primate prefrontal cortex caused short-term memory deficits...
  
  
• Attentional shift
• Wisconsin card sort
  Wisconsin card sort
  The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is a neuropsychological test of "set-shifting", i.e. the ability to display flexibility in the face of changing schedules of reinforcement. The WCST was written by David A. Grant and Esta A. Berg. The Professional Manual for the WCST was written by Robert K. Heaton,...