Working memory and control
This region is active when people hold information in mind and use it to guide what they do. One influential theory proposes that the prefrontal cortex maintains patterns of activity that represent goals, biasing processing in other areas toward the task at hand. This helps people follow rules and override habitual responses.
Regulating emotion and social behaviour
Imaging studies show dorsolateral activity when people deliberately reframe emotional events, a strategy known as reappraisal. Research using brain stimulation has also suggested a role for the right side of this region in social decisions, with reduced activity affecting how people respond to unfair offers in economic games.
Keeping claims modest
The region is part of larger networks and does not work alone. Brain imaging shows correlation, and a given region can be active for many reasons. Brain stimulation offers stronger causal evidence, but effects are often small and vary between individuals, and they do not justify simple claims about a brain's seat of willpower.
Further reading
- Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 167-202.
- Ochsner, K. N., & Gross, J. J. (2005). The cognitive control of emotion. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 242-249.
- Knoch, D., Pascual-Leone, A., Meyer, K., Treyer, V., & Fehr, E. (2006). Diminishing reciprocal fairness by disrupting the right prefrontal cortex. Science, 314, 829-832.