ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY DETAILS ABOUT YOUR PREFRONTAL CORTEX Brain Flash Card #12 4-11-16 WHAT IS YOUR PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? BRAIN SCIENCE FACTS What is the purpose and function of your prefrontal cortex (PFC)? The purpose of your prefrontal cortex is to make you the master of your emotions, which means that it gives you "executive control" over your feelings, if you know how to manage your emotions. It is helpful to simplify the most complex three pounds of matter in the universe (your brain) by integrating the idea of your prefrontal cortex with the overall concept of the global connectivity of your brain's structures and their functions. You can explore how the brain idea prefrontal cortex relates to the new brain idea of your brain's global connectivity by momentarily focusing your attention on the following circular symbol: See #12 = Prefrontal Cortex Brain Idea THIS SYMBOL REPRESENTS A SIMPLIFIED HOLISTIC VIEW OF THE GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY NECESSARY FOR HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS This circular symbol was created to convey a powerful visual image of the previously unimaginable coalescence of the many diverse and interactive physical brain structures that form the wonderful new idea of your self-manifesting holistic brain. The #12 red arrow points to the circle of human consciousness, which is depicted as being made up of many parts with a sum that is greater than all its separate parts. Each of the 15 primary brain ideas in the image, which are emphasized on this website, can converge and merge in your mind to produce the mental force (brainpower) that can empower you to stand up for your self-beliefs. All it takes is to do some critical thinking and critical reading, meaning deliberately "slow" thinking or reasoning in contrast to "fast" thinking, which is directly related to instinctual or intuitive thinking based upon learned behaviors and memories of your attitudes of the past. Critical thinking and reading are skills that involve asking questions to satisfy your curiosity. At the most profound philosophical level of abstraction, they can be about the nature of reality and the ultimate purpose of the universe! The questions you ask yourself and your most trusted friends and relatives can involve the most serious kinds of intellectual activity as you make your own life meaningful within the social context that you were born into first and later within the personal context that you create for yourself. Everybody, no matter what their age, needs to cope with life's great issues and make fulfilling decisions at some time in their lives. The best way to cope now is to apply critical thinking and reading skills to create your own goals and plans based upon humanistic values. NOTE: See also nucleus #5, potentiation #7, connectome #9, plasticity #10, cerebral cortex #11, limbic system #13, pleasure circuit #14, and working memory #15. Printable PDF Form DETAILS ABOUT YOUR PREFRONTAL CORTEX (for your own editing and memory consolidation) RECOMMENDATION: Print this PDF version and read it. Underline or highlight with colors the most important new brain ideas to save them in your long-term memory. Then read your mashup of these ideas in a few hours and then in a few days to take advantage of the spaced-repetition method of learning. instantly go to: FACT FINDER LIST OF BOOKS ABOUT PREFRONTAL CORTEX #12 or instantly return to: PREFRONTAL CORTEX: BRAIN FLASH CARD #12 or instantly return to: ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY INDEX produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas™