Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Microbial Phylogeny01:28

Microbial Phylogeny

Understanding the evolutionary relationships among microorganisms is fundamental to microbial ecology and taxonomy. Phylogenetic trees are essential tools for inferring these relationships, relying primarily on comparative analyses of molecular sequences such as DNA, RNA, or proteins. In microbial studies, these trees typically depict the evolutionary paths of diverse bacterial and archaeal species by mapping genetic differences accumulated over time.Phylogenetic trees are composed of tips,...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
Phylogeny01:23

Phylogeny

Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire...
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.The length of the branches can depict time or the relative amount of change among organisms. For instance, the branch length might indicate the number of amino acid changes in the sequence that underlies the...
Phylogenetic Trees03:21

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.The length of the branches can depict time or the relative amount of change among organisms. For instance, the branch length might indicate the number of amino acid changes in the sequence that underlies the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Evolution of prefrontal cortex.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2021
Same author

Evolution, Emotion, and Episodic Engagement.

The American journal of psychiatry·2021
Same author

Separable neuronal contributions to covertly attended locations and movement goals in macaque frontal cortex.

Science advances·2021
Same author

Representational specializations of the hippocampus in phylogenetic perspective.

Neuroscience letters·2017
Same author

Context-Dependent Duration Signals in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2015
Same author

Automatic comparison of stimulus durations in the primate prefrontal cortex: the neural basis of across-task interference.

Journal of neurophysiology·2015
Same journal

A large brain adds new types of neurons: Molecular and functional signatures of spindle neurons in the human neocortex.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Exercise as a regulator of glymphatic function.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

The neural basis of laughter.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Enteric neuroimmune interactions in health and disease.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Atomic insights into the physiological and functional diversity of NMDA receptors.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Cognitive functions of the GPe.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area
10:14

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Published on: October 25, 2024

Forward frontal fields: phylogeny and fundamental function.

Steven P Wise1

  • 1Section on Neurophysiology, Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, 49 Convent Drive, MSC 4401, Bethesda, MD 20892-4401, USA. stevenwise@mail.nih.gov

Trends in Neurosciences
|October 7, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The primate prefrontal cortex, unique among mammals, may encode knowledge about behaviors and their consequences. This function could explain its evolutionary advantage in complex situations.

More Related Videos

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
17:06

Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging

Published on: November 8, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area
10:14

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Published on: October 25, 2024

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
08:57

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin

Published on: August 14, 2018

Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
17:06

Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging

Published on: November 8, 2012

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Primate Cognition
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • The primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) is disproportionately large compared to other mammals.
  • Its unique size suggests a specialized function conferring an evolutionary advantage.
  • However, the specific advantage and function of the primate PFC remain largely enigmatic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a functional hypothesis for the unique aspects of the primate prefrontal cortex.
  • To elucidate the potential role of the primate PFC in complex behavioral decision-making.
  • To draw analogies with known functions of other cortical areas.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative neuroanatomy to identify homologous structures.
  • Functional analogy based on known cortical processing.
  • Hypothetical modeling of PFC's role in behavior and consequence representation.

Main Results:

  • The primate PFC lacks direct homologs in non-primate mammals.
  • Other cortical areas, like visual areas, encode and store knowledge about objects.
  • A proposed function for the primate PFC is the encoding, representation, and storage of knowledge about behaviors and their consequences.

Conclusions:

  • The primate PFC may specialize in representing behavioral knowledge, analogous to how visual areas represent object knowledge.
  • This behavioral knowledge representation could be crucial for navigating complex, challenging situations with rare risks or opportunities.
  • Understanding the PFC's role in behavioral knowledge is key to understanding its evolutionary advantage.