Sensitive Dependence of Mental Function on Prefrontal Cortex

Sensitive Dependence of Mental Function on Prefrontal Cortex

Compelling data suggest higher mental functions, executive function, awareness, consciousness, planning, strategic thinking, imagination and processing sensory input are the domain of prefrontal cortex function and in particular Brodman areas 8, 9, 10, 46 [1,2]. Recent studies have also suggested that the mediating influence of prefrontal cortex function is crucial in depression and in antidepr...

Behavioral function improvement of prefrontal cortex in treated depressed rats by ECT and ketamine

Background and Objective: Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is one of the effective methods for treatment of depression. Regarding the stimulatory effect of glutaminergic system on the progression of depression, the effect of ketamine as one of the most important inhibitors of this system has been investigated on the effectiveness of ECT. ...

An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function.

The prefrontal cortex has long been suspected to play an important role in cognitive control, in the ability to orchestrate thought and action in accordance with internal goals. Its neural basis, however, has remained a mystery. Here, we propose that cognitive control stems from the active maintenance of patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex that represent goals and the means to achieve...

Examining Theories of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Function

A Computational Model of Prefrontal Cortex Function

David Servan-Schreiber Dept. of Psychiatry Univ . of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15232 Accumulating data from neurophysiology and neuropsychology have suggested two information processing roles for prefrontal cortex (PFC): 1) short-term active memory; and 2) inhibition. We present a new behavioral task and a computational model which were developed in parallel. The task was developed to probe bot...