Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Abstract

In primates, the medial prefrontal cortex (PF) supports sequences of self-generated actions that are performed spontaneously and without external cues to instruct the action that is appropriate. Instead, the actions are performed on the basis of memories of previous events and their outcomes. Inputs from the parahippocampal and hippocampal cortex provide information about the scene or context; and inputs from the amygdala and orbital prefrontal cortex specify the outcomes. In ancestral anthropoids the hippocampal system for navigation was co-opted to support the retrieval of sequences of actions performed with the hand and arm, as in foraging. Outputs to the medial premotor areas influence the choice of actions, either for exploiting current resources or for exploring so as to find new ones. In anthropoids, visual and auditory inputs also convey the actions of conspecifics and predators so that the animal can predict what others are going to do.