Medial frontal lobe
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.