Frontal lobe

Question 1

Frontal lobes

Answer 1

Regulate behaviour according to time and context, support executive functions (planning, inhibition, attention, emotional regulation), and integrate sensory and memory input. They are hubs in the default and salience networks and essential for adaptive planning and temporal organisation of behaviour.

Question 2

Primary motor cortex (M1)

Answer 2

Located in the precentral gyrus; initiates voluntary movement. Lesions impair fine motor control, especially in contralateral limbs.

Question 3

Premotor cortex

Answer 3

Plans and prepares movement; its dorsal part selects actions from an internal action lexicon, while the ventral part contains mirror neurons for action understanding and imitation. It receives input from parietal and prefrontal areas and is key in stimulus-response learning and cue-based behaviour.

Question 4

Supplementary motor area (SMA)

Answer 4

Part of the dorsal premotor cortex involved in internally driven speech and movement, containing a secondary homunculus.

Question 5

Broca’s area

Answer 5

Involved in language production and semantic and phonological processing. Lesions cause agrammatism. Stimulation affects speech, facial movement, and gesture. Located in the inferior frontal gyrus.

Question 6

Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Answer 6

Critical for executive functions and modulated by thalamic, limbic, and dopaminergic input.

Question 7

Dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC)

Answer 7

Supports working memory, reasoning, and planning. Lesions cause behavioural disorganisation and memory deficits.

Question 8

Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)

Answer 8

Processes emotion, reward, and punishment associations. Lesions cause inappropriate social behaviour, impaired judgement, and reduced emotional insight. It is part of the amygdala network.

Question 9

Ventromedial PFC (vmPFC)

Answer 9

Interprets emotional and social signals, regulates affect, and is linked to mood disorders. Right-sided damage leads to severe social deficits.

Question 10

Frontal eye fields (FEF)

Answer 10

Coordinate voluntary saccades and are part of the dorsal attention network. Lesions cause disorganised eye movements.

Question 11

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Answer 11

Part of the salience and cingulo-opercular networks, supports task-related control and suppresses irrelevant activity. Lesions reduce social behaviour.

Question 12

Medial frontal cortex

Answer 12

Involved in self and other mental state representation, part of the cortical midline network linked to self-construction.

Question 13

Inferior frontal gyrus

Answer 13

Includes Broca’s area and contributes to self-representation by integrating visual and auditory self-related input.