The role of medial prefrontal cortex in memory and decision making
- PMID: 23259943
- PMCID: PMC3562704
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.12.002
The role of medial prefrontal cortex in memory and decision making
Abstract
Some have claimed that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) mediates decision making. Others suggest mPFC is selectively involved in the retrieval of remote long-term memory. Yet others suggests mPFC supports memory and consolidation on time scales ranging from seconds to days. How can all these roles be reconciled? We propose that the function of the mPFC is to learn associations between context, locations, events, and corresponding adaptive responses, particularly emotional responses. Thus, the ubiquitous involvement of mPFC in both memory and decision making may be due to the fact that almost all such tasks entail the ability to recall the best action or emotional response to specific events in a particular place and time. An interaction between multiple memory systems may explain the changing importance of mPFC to different types of memories over time. In particular, mPFC likely relies on the hippocampus to support rapid learning and memory consolidation.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3562704/bin/nihms-427745-f0001.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3562704/bin/nihms-427745-f0002.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3562704/bin/nihms-427745-f0003.gif)
![Figure 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3562704/bin/nihms-427745-f0004.gif)
![Figure 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3562704/bin/nihms-427745-f0005.gif)
Similar articles
-
Differentiation of Human Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity Underlies Long-Term Resistance to Forgetting in Memory.J Neurosci. 2018 Nov 28;38(48):10244-10254. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2290-17.2018. Epub 2018 Jul 16. J Neurosci. 2018. PMID: 30012697 Free PMC article.
-
Hippocampal-medial prefrontal circuit supports memory updating during learning and post-encoding rest.Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2016 Oct;134 Pt A(Pt A):91-106. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.11.005. Epub 2015 Nov 25. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2016. PMID: 26608407 Free PMC article.
-
Monosynaptic Hippocampal-Prefrontal Projections Contribute to Spatial Memory Consolidation in Mice.J Neurosci. 2019 Aug 28;39(35):6978-6991. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2158-18.2019. Epub 2019 Jul 8. J Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31285301 Free PMC article.
-
The Role of Prefrontal Ensembles in Memory Across Time: Time-Dependent Transformations of Prefrontal Memory Ensembles.Adv Neurobiol. 2024;38:67-78. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-62983-9_5. Adv Neurobiol. 2024. PMID: 39008011 Review.
-
Covert rapid action-memory simulation (CRAMS): a hypothesis of hippocampal-prefrontal interactions for adaptive behavior.Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2015 Jan;117:22-33. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.04.003. Epub 2014 Apr 19. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2015. PMID: 24752152 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
A mediation approach in resting-state connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate in mild cognitive impairment.Aging Clin Exp Res. 2024 Jul 30;36(1):154. doi: 10.1007/s40520-024-02805-8. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2024. PMID: 39078432 Free PMC article.
-
Regulation of GABAergic neurotransmission by purinergic receptors in brain physiology and disease.Purinergic Signal. 2024 Jul 24. doi: 10.1007/s11302-024-10034-x. Online ahead of print. Purinergic Signal. 2024. PMID: 39046648 Review.
-
Lack of Bmal1 leads to changes in rhythmicity and impairs motivation towards natural stimuli.Open Biol. 2024 Jul;14(7):240051. doi: 10.1098/rsob.240051. Epub 2024 Jul 24. Open Biol. 2024. PMID: 39045857 Free PMC article.
-
Robust memory of face moral values is encoded in the human caudate tail: a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study.Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 1;14(1):12629. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-63085-w. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 38824168 Free PMC article.
-
Distinct roles of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex in the expression and reconsolidation of methamphetamine-associated memory in male mice.Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 May 10. doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01879-2. Online ahead of print. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024. PMID: 38730034
References
-
- Akirav I, Maroun M. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex is obligatory for consolidation and reconsolidation of object recognition memory. Cereb Cortex. 2006;16:1759–1765. - PubMed
-
- Allen GV, Saper CB, Hurley KM, Cechetto DF. Organization of visceral and limbic connections in the insular cortex of the rat. J Comp Neurol. 1991;311:1–16. - PubMed
-
- Anderson MC, Ochsner KN, Kuhl B, Cooper J, Robertson E, Gabrieli SW, Glover GH, Gabrieli JD. Neural systems underlying the suppression of unwanted memories. Science. 2004;303:232–235. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical