UC San Diego

The prefrontal cortex is made up of several subdivisions. I will consider three of these, the orbitofrontal cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate cortex. These areas make up the agranular and dysgranular portion of the prefrontal cortex and have extensive connections with the neocortex as well as several subcortical structures. They play a critical role in emotional/social regulation, reward based learning, attention and error correction. Through these functions they contribute to decision making processes. Here I will discuss the anatomy, functions, development, and evolution through reviews of comparative studies of great apes