Posted by Course objective: Identify the various components and key structures of the nervous system.
My Research
The frontal lobe provides many cognitive functions for the brain (1). One of those functions is attention, which can be divided into three categories: sustained, divided, and focused (1). Sustained attention is the ability to maintain focus over a long period of time, which has been shown to be difficult when the right hemisphere of the brain has a deficit (1). Divided attention is the ability to multi-task or pay attention to multiple things at once, which relies on the right frontal activation (1). Focused attention is the ability to exclude other stimuli while trying to focus on one stimulus, which is done by using the orbitofrontal lobe (1). Another function of the frontal lobe is its role in our executive functions. Our executive functions allow us to have purposeful goal-directed behavior, which necessitates volition, planning, selection, and self-monitoring actions (1). Volition is the ability for someone to perceive their needs and act on them (1). Executive functions are mediated through the prefrontal lobes (1). The frontal lobe also serves as a way of managing our thoughts and the way we think (6). Another function that the frontal lobe deals with is our memory. Our memory is also mediated through the prefrontal lobe. If our executive control over our memories is impaired it will cause a deficit in memory retention (1). Memory can be defined into three different types: Short-term, working memory, and Long-term memory (1). Short-term memory, also known as immediate memory is the ability to retain a small amount of information for a small amount of time (1). Working memory is the ability to take the memory from the short-term and process it so it can be sent to the long-term memory (1). Long-term memory is the ability to retain information for a long period and be able to recall back to it (1). The frontal lobe plays a role in emotional regulation and our ability to produce an appropriate emotional response in social situations (1). The final function that the frontal lobe plays a role in is our affect and mood (1). The frontal lobe if dysfunctional can increase the possibility of developing psychiatric symptoms of disorders like depression, mania, apathy, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (1). It can also develop neurodevelopmental disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by overactivity, inattention, and impulsivity (2). ADHD is believed to be caused by an imbalance of the chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine so the treatment method for ADHD is either stimulant or non-stimulant medication, as well as, other non-pharmacological treatment options (3). This disorder is believed to have a deficit within the frontal lobe and other subcortical regions (3). This means there are many connections that we can make with the frontal lobe and the common symptoms of ADHD. The first is people with ADHD can struggle with paying attention which can be seen as daydreaming, distractibility, and struggling to stay focused on one thing for a long time (3). Now knowing the 3 different categories for attention we can find out which attention type is affected by ADHD. The attention types that are most affected are selective and sustained attention as people with ADHD struggle with maintaining attention without being easily distracted. Another common characteristic that can be seen with ADHD is being impulsive, lacking vigilance, and poor planning (2). This can be related to a deficit in the frontal lobe since this lobe deals with planning and self-monitoring actions, which cover all of those characteristics. People with ADHD also struggle with motivation which can also be seen in the frontal lobe dealing with goal-directed behavior. This also plays a role in the lack of dopamine, the chemical that deals with our reinforcement learning (2). People with ADHD also struggle with remembering things, more specifically their working memory doesn’t seem to work as effectively as a neurotypical brain would (4). This relates to the frontal lobe and dealing with memory. Since there is a lack of dopamine, which plays a role in our learning, The ability to remember certain things is affected due to the working memory not getting to the long-term memory. (2). ADHD is also commonly characterized by emotional dysregulation, which is a dysfunction in modifying your emotional state (5). This means that people with ADHD can experience intense mood lability of either excitement, anger, sadness, or any other emotion compared to a neurotypical brain (5). The frontal lobe plays a key role in emotional regulation and this shows the dysfunction that corresponds with this ADHD characteristic. Not being able to regulate your emotions can also affect your mood, which is another function of the frontal lobe. The final characteristic that can be associated with the frontal lobe is people with ADHD commonly have racing thoughts constantly about different things at once (7). Since the frontal lobe manages our thoughts and the way we think. This correlates to a deficit in the frontal lobe for people with ADHD, since they can’t stop thinking about a bunch of different things at once. This also plays a major role in their distractibility.
Description of my picture
In the middle of my picture, it depicts a brain with the frontal lobe colored red. Then around the brain are little thought bubbles that represent some of the common symptoms of ADHD and the important chemical dopamine. The thought bubble in the top left of the picture depicts someone daydreaming, which shows the inattentive part of ADHD. The thought bubble straight above the brain shows the lack of self-monitoring and impulsivity of wanting to buy something without thinking about other things. The thought bubble in the top right is a graph showing the emotional intensity and the time it takes for it to get to an intense emotion. This depicts the dysregulation of emotions and the intense mood lability that people with ADHD experience compared to a neurotypical brain. The thought bubble on the far right shows the memory issue that is common with ADHD. Finally, the entire picture depicts the racing thoughts of different things at once.
Link: https://humanap.community.uaf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/848/2024/11/Steam-Project-Drawing.pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bENlEvhRpYNUg29RKpvPH8sH-XdOACMa/view?usp=drive_link
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(4): Biederman, J., Molina, B. S., Spencer, T. J., Volkow, N. D., Cheon, K. A., Arnsten, A. F., Ludolph, A. G., Dyck, C. H. van, Rosa-Neto, P., Jucaite, A., Hesse, S., Szobot, C. M., Feron, F. J., Krause, K. H., Dougherty, D. D., Zetterström, T., Kuczenski, R., Robbins, T. W., Mattay, V. S., … Larisch, R. (2011, May 6). The roles of dopamine and noradrenaline in the pathophysiology and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322311002605
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