ABSTRACT
In the primate, the frontal cortex is defined as the cortex anterior to the central fissure, an expanse of tissue that includes the precentral gyrus (or primary motor cortex, Brodmann’s area 4; see Fig. 7.1). The term “prefrontal cortex” (PFC) describes all regions of the frontal lobe that lie anterior to the motor strip. Traditionally, the prefrontal cortex has also been defined as the projection field of the dorsomedial thalamus (Goldman-Rakic & Porrino, 1985; Rose & Woolsey, 1948; Walker, 1940). The prefrontal cortex is not viewed as a unitary structure, and several functional divisions have been proposed. These divisions generally include the dorsal region (Brodmann’s areas 6, 8, 9, and 46) and the ventral region (Brodmann’s areas 11, 12, 13, 25, 32, 45, and 10). In the mature primate, the prefrontal cortex is reciprocally connected with numerous cortical and subcortical structures, including the superior temporal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, and caudate nucleus (Cavada & Goldman-Rakic, 1989; Selemon & Goldman-Rakic,1988).
