ABSTRACT
Patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex represent goals and rules required to perform tasks. The prefrontal cortex is directly connected with association cortices where stimuli are represented in a behaviourally relevant manner. Stimulus representations coding for response dispositions compete for expression in behaviour. Motivational functions are lateralized within prefrontal brain regions. Studies using electroencephalographic measures of brain activity suggest that left frontal brain regions are involved in the expression of approach-related motivations, whereas right frontal brain regions are involved in the expression of withdrawal-related motivations. The anterior cingulate can be divided functionally and anatomically into a ventral tier and a dorsal tier. The prelimbic cortex appears to integrate spatial/contextual information from the hippocampus with affective information from basolateral amygdala and midline thalamus and visceral sensory information from the insular cortex when deciding the future course of goal-directed action.
