Frontal Lobes of the Brain: What Functions Do They Control?

The frontal lobes of the brain are the most anterior, which means they are positioned right behind your forehead and at the top-front of your head. There is a left lobe and a right lobe. A good brain map is at the bottom of the page here: www.neuroskills.com/brain.shtml.

The frontal lobe is surrounded by five other important brain sections: the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, the cerebellum, the brain stem, and the temporal lobe. The frontal lobe is a critical center and it controls the "essence" of our humanity, according to Dr. Donald Stuss of The Rotman Research Institute.

The frontal lobes, which are also called the cerebral cortex, are the seat of emotions and judgments related to sympathy, which is the ability to feel sorrow for someone else's suffering, and empathy, which the ability to understand another's feelings and problems. They are also the seat of understanding humor, including subtle witticisms and word plays. The frontal lobes also recognizes sarcasm and irony. And they are where recognition of deception occurs. The frontal lobes control the processes called "mentalizing" upon which our socialization is based; this is the ability to understand another's mental processes.

Other functions that the frontal lobes control are the functioning of sequencing events, which is the ability to plan a series of movements needed to perform a multi-step task, like making a sandwich. Spontaneity of facial expression and of interaction with others is also controlled by the frontal lobes as is the function of flexibility in thinking processes, for example, being able to conceive of and choose between complex alternatives in a social environment. The problematic opposite of this flexibility is perseveration, which is the fixed persistence of a single thought. Both attentiveness of focus on a single task and resistance to emotional lability, which is commonly referred to as mood changes or mood swings, are controlled by the frontal lobes.