Memory and the prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex has been associated with a variety of memory functions, including delayed response, conditional learning, immediate memory, free recall, memory for temporal order, and metamemory.(1-4) Neuropsychological studies of brain-injured patients and lesion studies using primate models have provided key findings concerning the contribution of prefrontal cortex to memory. The pattern of memory disorders associated with prefrontal lesions suggests an impairment in working memory, which is associated with organizing and monitoring information retrieved from memory. The role of the prefrontal cortex as a working memory or executive control process has been exemplified in various theories of frontal lobe function.(1,5-8) This paper briefly reviews the contribution of the prefrontal cortex to human memory performance. Topics include new learning capacity, remote memory, memory for temporal order, and metamemory. Findings suggest that memory disorders associated with prefrontal lesions may be related to problems in controlling and monitoring information processing. In particular, the prefrontal cortex may be involved in filtering or inhibiting irrelevant or extraneous neural activity in posterior cortex.