Frontal Lobe Syndromes

Abstract

The frontal lobes are anatomically defined by the central fissure at their posterior border as it is proximal to the somatosensory cortex of the parietal lobe. Anatomical landmarks exposed on the lateral surfaces of the frontal lobes include the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri. A gyrus is a cortical ridge surrounded by sulci or grooves produced with a folding of the surface of the brain to increase surface area. Prominent anatomical regions within the frontal lobes, which have been the subject of much research, include the motor cortex anterior to the central fissure, the premotor cortex anterior to the motor cortex, the prefrontal regions and frontal eye fields, the supplementary motor region, the orbitofrontal region, the cingulate gyrus, and the frontal poles. It is fair to say that the frontier of neuroscience and clinical research corresponds with the anterior-most regions of the frontal lobes: the frontal poles and the orbitofrontal and the basal frontal regions.