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Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Case Study

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Overview:

The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) is part of the frontal lobe, one of the most complex parts of the brain and among the last areas to develop. According to numerous neuroimaging studies, it may not be fully mature until a person’s mid-20s. The DLFPC has numerous connections with other parts of the brain and helps integrate information from different systems.

The DLPFC is involved in higher-order processing and executive functions like working memory, planning, attention, and self-regulation. These functions are crucial for everyday tasks like learning, decision-making, and socializing.

Location:

The Prefrontal Cortex lies in the frontal lobe anterior to the motor, premotor, and limbic areas and makes up about ⅓ of the total neocortical area of the brain. The prefrontal cortex may be further subdivided into the dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and (sometimes) ventrolateral cortices, though there is some debate about these divisions. There is not a clear anatomical line where the DLPFC begins and ends. One way of defining it is by its connection to the parvocellular subdivision of the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. Some authors say it includes Brodmann Areas 9 and 46 only, others may include …show more content…

The whole group went through a normal daily treatment with deep transcranial magnetic stimulation over the four weeks, then a subgroup continued with weekly maintenance sessions. This study is based on previous findings that depression is associated with hypoactivity in the left DLPFC and hyperactivity in the right DLPFC. All subjects showed improvement after the initial treatment, but then declined if they did not receive weekly maintenance

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