The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain that is responsible for a huge number of functions. The degree of its activity depends on the mental abilities of a person, and his behavior, and emotionality.
Location
The prefrontal cortex is located directly behind the frontal bone, in front of the hemispheres, and is supplied with blood through the anterior and middle arteries. That is, in fact, it is part of the frontal lobe of the brain, which can be divided into three sections:
- dorsolateral;
- medial;
- orbitofrontal.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex carries out most of the functions, as it controls emotions and cognitive functions. It is called the "slate board" of consciousness, on which we can place the image or information we need at a given moment in time.
But in order to understand the significance of this part of the brain, it is necessary to consider all aspects of its work, as well as the functions for which it is responsible.
Empathy
Empathy is a term that is often misunderstoodas the ability to sympathize and empathize, but in fact this feeling is more important. It allows you to see and feel how others treat you.
In the modern civilized world, empathy has only a sociocultural aspect, but for a primitive man, the ability to quickly recognize an enemy or friend was the key to saving his life. Therefore, we can safely say that the prefrontal cortex of the brain has a security function.
Emotionality
It is human nature to experience emotions ranging from intense joy to deep sadness or anger. But how appropriately he expresses his feelings depends on the perception of others as a mentally he althy person.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is responsible for both the ability of a person to experience emotions and the ability to assess the situation before expressing them non-verbally. The emotion itself is directly formed by the limbic system, then it enters the prefrontal cortex through neural connections, which evaluates whether it is worth expressing the emotion and how exactly. That is, a certain protective function of the brain works in this way, capable of reducing the degree of intensity of human emotions.
However, it is important to understand that the abilities of the prefrontal cortex are not as strong as they seem: if the limbic system is overexcited, the cortex will not be able to suppress the emotion, and, most likely, it will break out. For example, if a person is moderately angry, he may pull himself together and express resentment.silence, but if the degree of his anger is strong, he may well yell at the offender, burst into tears, or even use physical force.
And this will not testify in favor of the fact that the prefrontal cortex of the brain has functional impairments or organic lesions: physiologically, it is only able to cope with moderate emotions.
Planning
In order to make plans, a person must not only imagine a hypothetical picture of the future with its own possibilities, difficulties, nuances, but also refer to one's own experience, compare situations. Thus, the prefrontal cortex allows for effective forecasting, which is necessary in any area of a capable person's life.
Implementation of the plan
In order to get a specific result, it is not enough for a person to simply evaluate the initial data and see an image of what he wants to get. He needs to have a plan to achieve the goal, a step-by-step instruction compiled for him by the brain. This does not necessarily mean solving important and complex tasks.
For example, having experienced a feeling of hunger, a person may realize that a bowl of hot soup is a good solution to a problem. But if he is not able to compose a sequence of actions for himself: go to the kitchen, open the refrigerator, prepare food, then his ability to know what he needs is absolutely useless.
Criticality
One of the most important diagnosticfactors that psychiatrists use is the ability of a person to be critical. At the same time, it is important to evaluate with an adequate level of criticality both the events taking place around, the actions of other people, and your own actions.
Typically, people who have mental illnesses or who have impaired development of the prefrontal cortex, are not capable of self-criticism, evaluate their behavior as normal even with the most crazy actions.
Cognitive functions
The most important properties of the brain are the perception of information, its processing, memorization and restoration from memory if necessary. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for all of these processes. That is, the ability to learn, memorize, analyze depends on how well the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain functions.
Self-control
The concept of self-control is very closely related to emotions, the level of criticality and planning actions. For example, if a person suddenly wants to sing a song loudly in the middle of the street, their prefrontal cortex will most likely prevent them from doing so by slowing down the impulse, which would be perceived by others as an act of an out of control individual.
But when a person has an addiction, that is, a strong dependence on any habit, the control of the prefrontal cortex can weaken. For example, a heavy smoker may light a cigarette indoors despite being banned because the core of the brain requiresyour dose of pleasure.
Prefrontal cortex disorders
Problems with the activity of the prefrontal cortex can be easily recognized by the signs listed below. But it is important to understand that these signs are not specific, that is, they can be caused by defects in the prefrontal cortex or other diseases.
- Attention problems - a person cannot concentrate on a problem, task, conversation, it is difficult for him to concentrate on any subject for a long time, even if it is a movie.
- Mistakes in the interpretation of events taking place around, that is, a person may misperceive the attitude of other people towards him, not understand the dangers of close contact with them, or, on the contrary, harbor resentment, suspecting that behind every word or deed of another person there is an intention to harm him.
- Repetition of the same mistakes - the ability of a person to learn from experience is one of the most important tools of evolution. Putting his hand into the fire and realizing that it is painful and dangerous, a person enters this information into his consciousness and in the future is careful not to allow direct contact of the flame with the skin. With pathologies of the prefrontal cortex, a person can repeat the same mistakes over and over again, causing physical or emotional harm to himself.
- Disorganization - we can talk about the impossibility of planning your day, doing everything on time. The popular psychological term "procrastination", which refers to the pathological desire to put off all things for later, alsomay be due to a malfunction in the prefrontal cortex.
- Impulsiveness, or rather, the inability to suppress one's impulses. This may be expressed in the inability to control one's emotions or in the inability to deny oneself pleasure: to eat food prohibited for medical reasons, to drink alcohol, and so on.
Restoring functions
Weakness in the prefrontal cortex can occur for a variety of reasons. In particular, it appears with age, under the influence of severe stress and for other reasons. If a person, when comparing signs of prefrontal cortex dysfunction, noted some signs in himself, the recommendations below can help him:
- It is necessary to avoid any spontaneous decisions, especially in a difficult emotional situation. In the event of a conflict, you should gently withdraw from the conversation and carefully consider what is happening. In order to get out of the conflict easier, you can come up with a reason in advance, which you can use if necessary.
- Efficient organization requires making plans and writing lists. A simple diary can make life easier for someone with a weakened prefrontal cortex.
- In order to develop cognitive functions, you need to look for new ways of assimilating information. For example, speaking out loud, drawing a diagram, writing on paper - one of the ways will certainly be effective, and a person will be able to perceive and remember information much easier.
- Importantlearn reflection - analyze your actions, clearly understand why such a step was taken in a given situation, what it led to and whether it should be done in the future. Thus, a person independently develops the habit of applying the accumulated experience to solve any problems, if, due to organic disorders, the brain does not resort to such an algorithm on its own.
So, the prefrontal cortex, the development of which provided the ability to avoid committing rash acts, can be developed by a person, subject to the presence of will and the ability to control their limbic system and emotions.
