Where are the frontal lobes and what do they control?

Answer 1

The frontal lobes is the anterior-most portion of the cerebral cortex. It is responsible for executive function (planning, strategies, thinking ahead, social awareness) and is not fully developed in humans until around age 25. Humans have the largest frontal cortex relative to the rest of the cerebral cortex when compared to other animals, including non-human primates.

Answer 2

The frontal lobes include the prefrontal cortex - that part of the brain we believe supports the "executive" functions. The capacities to choose, inhibit, weigh consequences, and delay gratification are executive skills that improve with neurological maturity and are fully on-line in our early to mid-20s.

Good executive functioning distinguishes an 18-year old from a 10-year old, and an excellent college freshman from more average students, and high-functioning middle management staff from their more average coworkers.

Less than 10% of a dog's brain consists of prefrontal cortex. Over a quarter of the human brain, on the other hand, is dedicated to managing these cognitive skills.

Essentially, the "older" part of the brain - the part we have in common with most other animals - is responsible for determining "what is." The room is cool, that guy's wearing a red sweater, the cup of coffee is steaming, etc. Mice and turkeys and cats can do the "what is" part pretty well. But humans are uniquely skilled at determining "what might be." And that's the purview of the prefrontal cortex.

So basically we're walking around with these two brains. The "what is" part and the "what could be" part. That's 25% of your brain dedicated to imagining (creating a mental picture) or self-talk, or otherwise thinking of a reality that has not yet happened. Essentially, the prefrontal cortex works magic. Creates experiences out of pure idea!