Orbitofrontal Cortex: Parts, Functions And Characteristics
Human beings have a large number of complex cognitive abilities that allow them to adjust to a large extent to the environment in which they are located and the time in which they live. He is capable of planning, preparing for action, establishing strategies or inhibiting his own behavior. All of this is very useful both in nature and when immersed in society, such as in exchange or communication between different people and in different contexts.
For example, interacting with another person in the context of a conflict or misfortune is not the same as at a party in a nightclub, for example, and being able to distinguish this and manage behavior to adapt to each situation requires complex processes. Processes that do not appear out of nowhere, but are due to the action of different brain nuclei. One of the most important in this sense and which is also key to explaining a large part of our personality is the orbitofrontal cortex, which is the subject of this article
A region of the cerebral cortex is called the orbitofrontal cortex, which is part of the prefrontal cortex and that it has great importance in the regulation of social behavior, decision making and behavior inhibition. This cortex is located in the frontal lobe, being found in both cerebral hemispheres and located approximately at the height of the eye orbits (which is also the reason for its name).
The importance of this area is great, being involved in a large number of functions and even in the establishment of what we call personality This is due, in addition to its own performance, to the fact that we are dealing with a part of the brain that is highly connected to a large number of brain regions. Among its many connections, those that go to the limbic system (especially the amygdala), the insula, the motor cortex, the thalamus, the hypothalamus or the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and most sensory areas stand out. Likewise, we are facing one of the areas of the brain that takes the longest to develop, its formation not being completed until adulthood.
This brain region also has some historical importance as it is the area that was injured in the first known and documented case of a subject with brain injuries in the front part of the brain who lived to tell the tale: Phineas Gage. This young man, whom an iron bar pierced his orbitofrontal while he was handling explosives, managed to survive the injury, but after it he would begin to manifest severe alterations that would complicate his existence (hostility and aggressiveness, personality changes, inability to plan…) until he lost everything. The study of this case would allow us to begin to visualize and investigate the importance and functions of the prefrontal region of said brain region.
Main functions of this brain region
We have previously commented that the orbitofrontal cortex is of great importance for human beings, being in fact fundamental for allow the adaptation of human beings to their natural and social environment as well as to carry out complex mental actions and future plans. Its brain connections are many, being involved in a large number of processes. Some of the best known and explored are the following.
1. Regulation of social behavior
One of the best-known functions of the orbitofrontal cortex and the one we mentioned in the introduction is to help regulate social behavior. That is, thanks to the orbitofrontal cortex we are able to adjust our actions and words to the situations, people and types of interaction we are having at the current moment. Also allows you to value social norms
Another key function in which the orbitrofrontal cortex is essential is the inhibition of behavior. That is, thanks to this brain region (among others) we are capable of not doing the first thing that comes to mind, or of changing our behavior as we are doing it to adapt to the circumstances.
3. Implication on personality
It cannot be said that personality lies solely in the prefrontal cortex, but the truth is that it has been observed that the alteration of this brain region can have serious repercussions on a person’s way of being being able to totally vary their way of behaving and reacting to stimuli.
4. Emotional and aggressive management
Something partly linked to the previous aspects and derived largely from its connections with the limbic system is the involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex with emotional management, especially with regard to the control of defensive and aggressive responses. It is therefore an area that allows us to be alert to threatening stimuli.
5. Reward-punishment and learning systems
Studies carried out in relation to the orbitofrontal cortex have shown that this region of the prefrontal, especially with regard to its medial areas, are related to the sensitivity and learning the relationship between behavior and reinforcement Its more lateral areas do the same with the behavior-punishment relationship. In addition, it allows the existence of sensitivity towards one or the other, something that is linked to our future behavioral choices.
6. Integration of sense-experience information
Although it was already suspected that there was an involvement on the part of the orbitofrontal cortex in this, recent research has shown that this cortex is activated and allows the current sensory information to be integrated. with the information previously accumulated from the previous moments
Directly related to the above, it has been identified that the orbitofrontal cortex has a great implication when making decisions, given the integration of the information from the previous point and its analysis. It allows us to anticipate the choice of behavioral response that we are going to carry out although this may vary depending on new experiences.
8. Motivation and planning
Another area in which the orbitofrontal cortex has been involved is in the ability to motivate yourself, especially when it comes to taking initiative towards the behavior or maintaining it. It also influences behavioral planning.
What problems may arise from your injury?
Given some of the multiple functions of this brain region and how important they are in our daily lives, it is easy to imagine the type of difficulties that its injury can cause.
It is common for lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex to lead to appearance of aggressive behaviors, limitations in the ability to bond with others and have empathy, social disengagement and disobedience of social norms, apathy, inability to generate, initiate or maintain plans and a high level of disinhibition that includes difficulties controlling their impulses (including addictions, sexual activity, eating or aggression) and that can lead to generating legal issues. In fact, there is a specific syndrome that refers to the appearance of these symptoms due to brain injury: orbitofrontal syndrome.
The lesions themselves can appear due to different types of injuries, such as head trauma, lacerations (like Phineas Gage), the presence of brain tumors or infections or strokes.
