Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

2011 Edition
| Editors: Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, John DeLuca, Bruce Caplan

Dorsolateral Frontal System

  • Nicole C. R. McLaughlin
  • Paul F. Malloy
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1887
How to cite

Structure

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is located on the convexity of the prefrontal cortex, superior to orbital frontal cortex and anterior to the premotor cortex. Architectonically, it is composed of granular neurons distinct from the pyramidal cells of the adjacent motor cortex. The DLPFC includes at least Brodmann areas 9 and 46, the areas that are homologous to those surrounding the principal sulcus in lower primates, which have been shown to be important in working memory (WM) function (see below). Some researchers include other frontal zones in the DLPFC, including parts of Brodmann areas 8 through 12, 45, 46, and 47, though 44, 45, and 47/12 have also been characterized as ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (Diamond, 2002).

Dendrites in the DLPFC reach full maturity by the age of 12 months, plateauing in length until at least age 27 years (Diamond, 2002). Glucose metabolism also reaches adult levels by 12 months. However, synaptic density continues to decrease,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References and Readings

  1. Abbruzzese, M., Ferri, S., & Scarone, S. (1995). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder: no evidence for involvement of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Psychiatry Research, 58(1), 37–43.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Altshuler, L., Bookheimer, S., Townsend, J., Proenza, M. A., Sabb, F., Mintz, J., et al. (2008). Regional brain changes in bipolar I depression: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Bipolar Disorders, 10(6), 708–717.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  3. Basso, D., Lotze, M., Vitale, L., Ferreri, F., Bisiacchi, P., Olivetti Belardinelli, M., et al. (2006). The role of prefrontal cortex in visuo-spatial planning: A repetitive TMS study. Experimental Brain Research, 171(3), 411–415.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Brooks, J. O., 3rd, Bonner, J. C., Rosen, A. C., Wang, P. W., Hoblyn, J. C., Hill, S. J., et al. (2009). Dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal gray matter density changes associated with bipolar depression. Psychiatry Research, 172(3), 200–204.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  5. Courtney, S. M., Ungerleider, L. G., Keil, K., & Haxby, J. V. (1996). Object and spatial visual working memory activate separate neural systems in human cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 6(1), 39–49.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Cummings, J. L. (1994). Frontal-subcortical circuits and human behavior. Archives of Neurology, 8, 873–880.Google Scholar
  7. D’Esposito, M., Aguirre, G. K., Zarahn, E., Ballard, D., Shin, R. K., & Lease, J. (1998). Functional MRI studies of spatial and nonspatial working memory. Brain Research, Cognitive Brain Research, 7(1), 1–13.Google Scholar
  8. Dagher, A., Owen, A. M., Boecker, H., & Brooks, D. J. (1999). Mapping the network for planning: a correlational PET activation study with the Tower of London task. Brain, 122(Pt 10), 1973–1987.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Diamond, A. (2002). Normal development of prefrontal cortex from birth to young adulthood: cognitive functions, anatomy, and biochemistry. In D. T. K. Stuss, R. T. (Ed.), Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 466–503). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  10. Friston, K. J., Frith, C. D., Liddle, P. F., & Frackowiak, R. S. (1991). Investigating a network model of word generation with positron emission tomography. Proceedings of Biological Sciences, 244(1310), 101–106.Google Scholar
  11. Gansler, D. A., Fucetola, R., Krengel, M., Stetson, S., Zimering, R., & Makary, C. (1998). Are there cognitive subtypes in adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder? Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186(12), 776–781.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Goghari, V. M., Sponheim, S. R., & MacDonald, A. W., 3rd (2010). The functional neuroanatomy of symptom dimensions in schizophrenia: a qualitative and quantitative review of a persistent question. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(3), 468–486.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  13. Goldman-Rakic, P. S. L., H. (2002). Functional Architecture of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex. In D. T. K. Stuss, R.T. (Ed.), Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 85–95). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  14. Hassel, S., Almeida, J. R., Kerr, N., Nau, S., Ladouceur, C. D., Fissell, K., et al. (2008). Elevated striatal and decreased dorsolateral prefrontal cortical activity in response to emotional stimuli in euthymic bipolar disorder: no associations with psychotropic medication load. Bipolar Disorders, 10(8), 916–927.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  15. Jaracz, J. (2008). The anatomy of depression in light of evidence from neuroimaging studies. Psychiatria Polska, 42(6), 875–888.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Jones-Gottman, M., & Milner, B. (1977). Design fluency: the invention of non-sense drawings after focal cortical lesions. Neuropsychologia, 15, 653–674.Google Scholar
  17. Koenigs, M., & Grafman, J. (2009). The functional neuroanatomy of depression: distinct roles for ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Behavioural Brain Research, 201(2), 239–243.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  18. Kondo, H., Osaka, N., & Osaka, M. (2004). Cooperation of the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for attention shifting. NeuroImage, 23(2), 670–679.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Kostopoulos, P., & Petrides, M. (2003). The mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex: insights into its role in memory retrieval. European Journal of Neuroscience, 17(7), 1489–1497.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Kumari, V., Peters, E. R., Fannon, D., Antonova, E., Premkumar, P., Anilkumar, A. P., et al. (2009). Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity predicts responsiveness to cognitive-behavioral therapy in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry, 66(6), 594–602.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  21. Malloy, P. D., J. (1994). The frontal lobes in neuropsychiatric disorders. In F. S. Boller, H. (Ed.), Handbook of neuropsychology. New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
  22. Manoach, D. S., Gollub, R. L., Benson, E. S., Searl, M. M., Goff, D. C., Halpern, E., et al. (2000). Schizophrenic subjects show aberrant fMRI activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia during working memory performance. Biological Psychiatry, 48(2), 99–109.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. McLaughlin, N. C. R., Moore, D. W., Fulwiler, C., Bhadelia, R., & Gansler, D. A. (2009). Differential contributions of lateral prefrontal cortex regions to visual memory processes. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 3(2), 202–211.Google Scholar
  24. Nakao, T., Nakagawa, A., Nakatani, E., Nabeyama, M., Sanematsu, H., Yoshiura, T., et al. (2009). Working memory dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a neuropsychological and functional MRI study. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43(8), 784–791.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Petrides, M. (1994). Frontal lobes and behaviour. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 4(2), 207–211.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Petrides, M. (2000). Dissociable roles of mid-dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior inferotemporal cortex in visual working memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 20(19), 7496–7503.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. Potkin, S. G., Turner, J. A., Brown, G. G., McCarthy, G., Greve, D. N., Glover, G. H., et al. (2009). Working memory and DLPFC inefficiency in schizophrenia: the FBIRN study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(1), 19–31.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  28. Rao, S. C., Rainer, G., & Miller, E. K. (1997). Integration of what and where in the primate prefrontal cortex. Science, 276(5313), 821–824.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Ravizza, S. M., & Carter, C. S. (2008). Shifting set about task switching: behavioral and neural evidence for distinct forms of cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia, 46(12), 2924–2935.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  30. Ruff, R. M., Allen, C. C., Farrow, C. E., Niemann, H., & Wylie, T. (1994). Figural fluency: differential impairment in patients with left versus right frontal lobe lesions. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 9(1), 41–55.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  31. Saint-Cyr, J. A., Bronstein, Y. L., & Cummings, J. L. (2002). Neurobehavioral consequences of neurosurgical treatments and focal lesions of frontal-subcortical circuits. In D. T. K. Stuss, R.T. (Ed.), Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 408–427). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  32. Seidman, L. J., Valera, E. M., Makris, N., Monuteaux, M. C., Boriel, D. L., Kelkar, K., et al. (2006). Dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex volumetric abnormalities in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder identified by magnetic resonance imaging. Biological Psychiatry, 60(10), 1071–1080.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  33. Shafritz, K. M., Kartheiser, P., & Belger, A. (2005). Dissociation of neural systems mediating shifts in behavioral response and cognitive set. NeuroImage, 25(2), 600–606.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  34. Stuss, D. T., Alexander, M. P., Hamer, L., Palumbo, C., Dempster, R., Binns, M., et al. (1998). The effects of focal anterior and posterior brain lesions on verbal fluency. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4(3), 265–278.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  35. Stuss, D. T., Alexander, M. P., Floden, D., Binns, M. A., Levine, B., McIntosh, A. R., et al. (2002). Fractionation and localization of distinct frontal lobe processes: evidence from focal lesions in humans. In D. T. K. Stuss, R.T. (Ed.), Principles of frontal lobe function. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  36. van den Heuvel, O. A., Remijnse, P. L., Mataix-Cols, D., Vrenken, H., Groenewegen, H. J., Uylings, H. B., et al. (2009). The major symptom dimensions of obsessive-compulsive disorder are mediated by partially distinct neural systems. Brain, 132(Pt 4), 853–868.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  37. Weinberger, D. R., Berman, K. F., & Zec, R. F. (1986). Physiologic dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. I. Regional cerebral blood flow evidence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43(2), 114–124.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  38. Yeo, R. A., Hill, D. E., Campbell, R. A., Vigil, J., Petropoulos, H., Hart, B., et al. (2003). Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigation of the right frontal lobe in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(3), 303–310.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  39. Yurgelun-Todd, D. A., Gruber, S. A., Kanayama, G., Killgore, W. D., Baird, A. A., & Young, A. D. (2000). fMRI during affect discrimination in bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 2(3 Pt 2), 237–248.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  40. Zamboni, G., Huey, E. D., Krueger, F., Nichelli, P. F., & Grafman, J. (2008). Apathy and disinhibition in frontotemporal dementia: Insights into their neural correlates. Neurology, 71(10), 736–742.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nicole C. R. McLaughlin
    • 1
  • Paul F. Malloy
    • 2
  1. 1.Butler Hospital Alpert Medical School of Brown UniversityProvidenceUSA
  2. 2.The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown UniversityButler HospitalProvidenceUSA