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How the Cerebral Cortex Subserves Psychological Functions Is Well Understood

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How the Cerebral Cortex Subserves Psychological Functions Is Well Understood
THE FRONTAL LOBE HAVE MORE THAN ONE FUNCTION DISCUSS. ILLUSTRATING YOUR ANSWERS WITH REFERENCE TO AT LEAST TWO POSSIBLE ROLES OF THE FRONTAL LOBE.

The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control centre and home to our personality. There is no other part of the brain where lesions can cause such a wide variety of symptoms (Kolb & Wishaw, 1990). The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgment, impulse control, and social and sexual behaviour. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the front of the cranium, proximity to the sphenoid wing and their large size. The frontal lobe is present in all mammalian species and has undergone tremendous evolutionary expansion and it is associated with the expansion of cognitive abilities (Carlson et al, 2004).

This essay will be looking at the definition, the anatomy and the structure of the frontal lobe. It will also begin by tracing the historical context of the frontal lobe and also looking at damages that can occur to the frontal lobes and how it affects psychological functions, especially relating it to some famous cases. Although the frontal lobe has many functions, for the purpose of this essay only two roles of the frontal lobe will be discussed at length and they are the role of the frontal lobe in social behaviour and also linking it to the role of the frontal lobe in execution giving evidence to support the fact that these roles subserves psychological functions with a view to reaching a conclusion.

The frontal lobe comprises about one third of the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is made up of four main areas called lobes, which are named after the bones of the skull that cover them, and they are the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe. The brain contains two of each lobe one in each of the hemisphere. The frontal lobe as the name depicts is located at



References: Carlson N., Martin G.N., Buskist W. (2004). Psychology. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Pearson Education. Fuster, J.M (1997b). The Prefrontal Cortex –Anatomy Physiology and Neuropsychology of the Frontal Lobe: Philadelphia: Lippicott-Raven. Fuster, J.M (2002). Frontal lobe and cognitive development: Journal of Neurocytology 31, 373-385. Godefroy. O, Rousseaux, M. (1997). Novel decision making in patients with prefrontal or posterior brain damage. Neurology 49: 695 – 701. Harlow, J.M (1868). “Recovery after severe injury to the head”: Publications of the Massachusetts Medical Society 2: 327- 347. Kolb, B. and Wishaw, I.  (1990).  Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology.  W.H.Freeman & Co, New York. Levin et al. (1987). Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography in relation to the neurobehavioral sequelae of mild and moderate head injuries. Journal of Neurosurgery, 66, 706-713. Luria, A.R (1966). Higher cortical functions in Man: New York. Basic Books. Meyers, C.A, Berman, S.A, Scheibel, R.S, and Hayman, A. (1992). Case Report: Acquired Antisocial Personality Disorder Associated with Unilateral Left Orbital Frontal Lobe Damage: Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 17 (3): 121- 125. Parkins, A.J. (1996). Explorations in Cognitive Neuropsychology. United Kingdom. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Saver, J.L. and Damasio, A.R. (1991). Preserved access and processing of social knowledge in patient with acquired sociopathy due to ventromedial damage. Neuropsychologia 29, 1241 – 1249.

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