Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Part of the prefrontal cortex of the brain}}

| name = Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex

| Latin = cortex praefrontalis ventrolateralis

[[File:VLPFC BA pial 20131213 alxhng.tif|thumb|right|Human brain, left hemisphere. The [[Brodmann areas]] [[Brodmann area47|47]]. [[Brodmann area45|45]]. [[Brodmann area 44|44]] are presented, which correspond to the VLPFC (according to this [[FreeSurfer]] atlas).]]

[[File:VLPFC BA regions.tif|thumb|right|Same image, inflated version. The VLPFC is outlined with a red border.]]

The '''ventrolateral prefrontal cortex''' ('''VLPFC''') is a section of the [[prefrontal cortex]] located on the [[inferior frontal gyrus]], bounded superiorly by the [[inferior frontal sulcus]] and inferiorly by the [[lateral sulcus]]. It is attributed to the anatomical structures of [[Brodmann's area]] (BA) [[Brodmann area 47|47]], [[Brodmann area 45|45]] and [[Brodmann area 44|44]] (considered the subregions of the VLPFC – the anterior, mid and posterior subregions).

Specific functional distinctions have been presented between the three Brodmann subregions of the VLPFC.<ref>{{cite journal |pmc=6674026| doi= 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0808-06.2006|title= Dissociation of automatic and strategic lexical-semantics: functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence for differing roles of multiple frontotemporal regions.|date=Jun 2006|journal= J Neurosci|volume= 26|issue= 24|pages= 6523–6532|pmid=16775140 | last1 = Gold | first1 = BT | last2 = Balota | first2 = DA | last3 = Jones | first3 = SJ | last4 = Powell | first4 = DK | last5 = Smith | first5 = CD | last6 = Andersen | first6 = AH| url = https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=neurobio_facpub | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |doi= 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.06.015|title= Left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the cognitive control of memory.|date=Oct 2007|journal= Neuropsychologia|volume= 45|issue= 13|pages= 2883–901|pmid=17675110 | last1 = Badre | first1 = D | last2 = Wagner | first2 = AD}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1093/cercor/bhn027|title= A rational account of memory predicts left prefrontal activation during controlled retrieval.|date=Nov 2008|journal= Cereb Cortex|volume= 18|issue= 11|pages= 2674–85|pmid=18321871 |pmc= 2733322 | last1 = Danker | first1 = JF | last2 = Gunn | first2 = P | last3 = Anderson | first3 = JR}}</ref> There are also specific functional differences in activity in the right and left VLPFC.<ref name="Levy 2011">{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.05958.x |title=Cognitive control and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex: reflexive reorienting, motor inhibition, and action updating |year= 2004 |journal=Ann N Y Acad Sci |volume= 1224|issue= 1|pages= 40–62|pmid=21486295 |pmc=3079823 | last1 = Levy | first1 = BJ | last2 = Wagner | first2 = AD}}</ref> Neuroimaging studies employing various cognitive tasks have shown that the right VLPFC region is a critical substrate of control.<ref name="Levy 2011" /> At present, two prominent theories feature the right VLPFC as a key functional region. From one perspective, the right VLPFC is thought to play a critical role in motor inhibition, where control is engaged to stop or override motor responses.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1016/j.tics.2004.02.010|title=Review Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex. |year= 2004 |last1=Aron |first1=AR |journal=Trends Cogn Sci |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=170–7 |pmid=15050513 }}</ref> Alternatively, Corbetta and Shulman<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1038/nrn755|title= Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain.|date=Mar 2002|journal= Nat Rev Neurosci|volume= 3|issue= 3|pages= 201–15|pmid=11994752 | last1 = Corbetta | first1 = M | last2 = Shulman | first2 = GL}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.04.017|title= The reorienting system of the human brain: from environment to theory of mind.|date=May 2008|journal= Neuron|volume= 58|issue= 3|pages= 306–24|pmid=18466742 |pmc= 2441869 | last1 = Corbetta | first1 = M | last2 = Patel | first2 = G | last3 = Shulman | first3 = GL}}</ref> have advanced the hypothesis that there are two distinct frontoparietal networks involved in spatial attention, with the right VLPFC being a component of a right-lateralized ventral attention network that governs reflexive reorienting. From this perspective, the right lateral PFC, along with a region spanning the right [[temporoparietal junction]] (TPJ) and the [[inferior parietal lobule]], are engaged when abrupt onsets occur in the environment, suggesting that these regions are involved in re-orienting attention to perceptual events that occur outside the current focus of attention.<ref name="Levy 2011" /> Also, the VLPFC is the end point of the [[Ventral stream|ventral pathway]] (stream) that brings information about the stimuli's characteristics.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5652-12.2013 |title=Disruption of Dorsolateral but Not Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Improves Unconscious Perceptual Memories |year=2013 |last1=Lee |first1=T. G. |last2=Blumenfeld |first2=R. S. |last3=d'Esposito |first3=M. |journal=Journal of Neuroscience |volume=33 |issue=32 |pages=13233–7 |pmid=23926275 |pmc=3735892}}</ref>

The whole right VLPFC is active during motor inhibition, having a critical role, meaning when a person is walking and suddenly stops, the VLPFC activates to stop or override the motor activity in the cortex. The right posterior VLPFC (BA 44) is active during the updating of action plans. The right middle VLPFC (BA 45) responds to decision uncertainty (presumably in right-handed individuals).<ref name="Levy 2011"/>