The nervous system is a tangle of neurons and glial cells of enormous complexity; ultimately, it is the structures that will determine our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. These nerve units are grouped into larger structures to perform their functions, and each of these groups be just a grain of sand in this machine so complex that it is our body. One of the most notable structures of the nervous system is the brain, and the brain is divided into a number of areas called lobes. Among the brain lobes is the frontal lobe, which will be the protagonists of this article.
First, lobes should be understood as theoretical definitions based on the division of the cerebral cortex. This division was made according to the role played by the parties in the different processes and place. We can make an analogy with Earth: if the brain were Earth, the wolves would be the continents.
- This classification is very functional because it serves as a map to easily locate certain points on the surface of the brain.
- The cerebral cortex is composed of 6 functional lobes: frontal.
- Parietal.
- Occipital.
- Temporal.
- Insular and limbic.
- We will focus on what we could say is the most relevant of them.
- The frontal lobe.
- We will start by highlighting the surface it occupies.
- As it represents a third of the total surface area of the bark.
The frontal lobe is located in the earliest part of the brain, more precisely occupying the entire cerebral cortex from the central groove. It is considered a very important wolf because it performs central functions in the processing of information, especially executive information. It can also be said that the frontal lobe is divided into several regions that give it a wide variety of functions.
By grouping the different functional structures of this wolf, we can talk about two main areas, one of them would be the area corresponding to motor functions, the motor cortex, fulfilling all the functions of the movement, the other area would be the prefrontal cortex, in charge of executive processes, decision making and various aspects related to the regulation of emotions.
The motor cortex of the frontal lobe will be the manager of all the efferent systems of the body, thanks to it we will be able to perform all kinds of actions and voluntary motor actions, this structure will be responsible for both planning the movement and transmitting orders to the muscles for action. It is important to note that this part of the cortex is only responsible for voluntary movements, the involuntary motor system is based on other structures, such as the central gray nuclei and the cerebellum.
We can find three relevant subzones to mention in the motor cortex
This region is responsible for the executive system and the processing of human brain information. The prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe is ultimately the basis of human cognition, behavior, and emotional response. This is the mediating part among many other structures that are distributed throughout the brain, playing a key role in decision-making.
We cannot fail to mention that executive functions are a set of higher-order cognitive skills that control our behavior and emotions, on the other hand, we can say that all these processes that try to manage, organize, coordinate and lead are being performed in this area Could be described as a computer processor if we made a comparison with these machines.
Within this cortical area, we can distinguish three regions of great functional importance:
The frontal lobe is one of the most important structures of our brain, its study, through various neuroscientific techniques, gives us very valuable information: understanding its structure and functionality brings us closer to understanding our biology and gives us clues about its relationship to our behaviors, emotions and thoughts.