I just wanted to plug something else on ScienceBlogs really quick. Chris Chatham at Developing Intelligence is running a multi-part series on the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that is responsible for what neuroscientists call "executive functions." Executive functions are things like planning and not acting like a jackass.
Anyway, since I just moved to a lab that studies the PFC, I am really enjoying his posts.
Yesterday he gave a introductory piece and today he explores neural cascades. Definitely worth the read.
More like this
Although much progress has been made since neurologist Richard Restack called the brain one of science's last frontiers, the functions of some brain areas remain mysterious.
As described in yesterday's post, many theories have been proposed on the possible functional organization of prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Though anatomically heterogenous, the human prefrontal cortex seems to perform a rather general function: it actively maintains context representations to guide and control behavior. What, then, is the reason for the anatomical diversity within this region of the brain?
As enigmatic as prefrontal function seems to be, the anterior portions of prefrontal cortex (aPFC) are even more mysterious.