Abstract
BackgroundA major question in understanding the functional organization of the brain is to delineate the functional divisions of the prefrontal cortex. Of particular importance to the cognitive capacities that are uniquely human is the fronto-polar cortex (Brodmann's area 10), which is disproportionally larger in humans relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the ape's brain. The specific function of this brain region remains poorly understood, but recent neuroimaging studies have proposed that it may hold goals in mind while exploring and processing secondary goals.Principal FindingsHere we show that the extent of damage to the fronto-polar cortex predicts impairment in the management of multiple goals. This result reveals that the integrity of the fronto-polar cortex is necessary to perform tasks that require subjects to maintain a primary goal in mind while processing secondary goals, an ability which is crucial for complex human cognitive abilities.Conclusion/SignificanceThese results provide important new insights concerning the cerebral basis of complex human cognition such as planning and multitasking.
Highlights
Some of the most complex cognitive abilities of humans, such as planning, are commonly attributed to a disproportionate enlargement of the human frontal lobe during evolution
Conclusion/Significance: These results provide important new insights concerning the cerebral basis of complex human cognition such as planning and multitasking
The specific cognitive capacities of humans may be due to differences in specific individual cortical areas, as well as to richer interconnectivity between the frontal lobe and other higher-order association areas, none of which require an increase in the overall relative size of the frontal lobe during hominid evolution
Summary
Some of the most complex cognitive abilities of humans, such as planning, are commonly attributed to a disproportionate enlargement of the human frontal lobe during evolution. Of particular importance in the cognitive capacities that are uniquely human seems to be the most anterior part of the prefrontal cortex, namely the fronto-polar cortex (Brodmann’s area 10), which is larger in humans relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the ape’s brain [1,2]. Of particular importance to the cognitive capacities that are uniquely human is the frontopolar cortex (Brodmann’s area 10), which is disproportionally larger in humans relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the ape’s brain. The specific function of this brain region remains poorly understood, but recent neuroimaging studies have proposed that it may hold goals in mind while exploring and processing secondary goals
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