Medial frontal lobe [Neurosurgery Wiki]

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====== Medial frontal lobe ======

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The **medial [[frontal lobe]]** refers to the **inner (medial) portion of the frontal [[lobe]]**, located along the midline of the brain, above the [[corpus callosum]]. It plays a crucial role in **[[cognitive control]], [[decision-making]], emotional regulation, and [[social behavior]]**.

### **Key Structures in the Medial Frontal Lobe:**
1. **Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC):**  
   - Involved in **cognitive control, emotion regulation, and pain processing**.
   - Dysfunction is associated with **depression, anxiety, and OCD**.

2. **Pre-supplementary Motor Area (pre-SMA) & [[Supplementary Motor Area]] (SMA):**  
   - Important for **planning and initiating voluntary movements**.
   - Implicated in **motor disorders like Parkinson’s disease**.

3. **Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC):**  
   - Plays a role in **self-referential thinking, decision-making, and social cognition**.
   - Involved in **understanding the thoughts and emotions of others (theory of mind)**.

4. **Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) (partially medial):**  
   - Regulates **reward-based decision-making and emotional responses**.
   - Dysfunction can lead to **impulsivity and poor judgment**.

### **Functions of the Medial Frontal Lobe:**
- **Executive Function & Decision-Making:**  
  - Helps in **goal-oriented behavior and adapting to new situations**.
- **Emotion & Social Behavior:**  
  - Plays a role in **empathy, morality, and understanding social norms**.
- **Motor Control:**  
  - Contributes to **voluntary movement planning and execution**.

===== Clinical Relevance =====

- Damage to the **medial frontal lobe** can result in:
  - **Apathy and lack of motivation (abulia)**
  - **Poor decision-making and impulse control**
  - **Deficits in emotional and social cognition (e.g., autism, schizophrenia)**
  - **Akinesia (difficulty initiating movement)** in disorders like **Parkinson’s disease**.