frontalareal

Frontalareal is a term encountered in some neuroscience writings to denote the frontal areas of the cerebral cortex. It is not a universally standardized term, but it is used to reference the network of cortical regions located in the frontal lobe that participate in high-level cognition and voluntary action. The frontal areas include subregions such as the prefrontal cortex (including dorsolateral, ventromedial, and orbitofrontal zones), the premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, and the frontal eye fields, as well as medial structures like the anterior cingulate cortex.

These regions support a range of functions, including executive processes such as planning, strategic thinking, inhibition of inappropriate responses, and flexible problem solving; working memory; decision making; motor planning and execution; and the regulation of emotion and social behavior. The frontal areas operate in close coordination with parietal, temporal, and limbic circuits and maintain extensive connections with subcortical structures such as the basal ganglia and thalamus. Through these connections, they participate in networks that support attention, goal-directed behavior, and context-appropriate actions, including systems akin to the frontoparietal control network.

Clinical relevance arises when frontal areas are damaged or dysregulated. Lesions can produce a range of effects collectively termed frontal lobe syndrome, including changes in personality, apathy or disinhibition, impaired planning, and perseverative or disorganized behavior, with cognitive and motor deficits varying by subregion. In writing, the term “frontalareal” is often supplanted by references to the frontal cortex or to specific subregions by anatomical labels or Brodmann areas.