What Are the Functions of Frontal Lobe of Brain?

The cerebrum, which is the largest part of the brain, is divided into four areas, or lobes, each of which houses different functions. The cerebrum is also divided into two hemispheres: the left, which helps you think creatively and the right, which helps you think logically. Hence, you have a left-sided frontal lobe and a right-sided frontal lobe.

Your personality lives in the frontal lobes, where emotions, problem solving, reasoning, planning and other functions are managed. The frontal lobes are linked to sensory and memory centers throughout the brain. Their primary job is to allow us to think things through and determine how to use information that is located elsewhere in the brain.

Problem Solving

Higher-level thinking is supported by the frontal lobes. Activity in these lobes allows us to reason, make judgments, make plans for the near and far future, make choices, take action, solve problems and generally control our living environment. Without fully functioning frontal lobes, you may have intelligence, but you wouldn't be able to put it to use.

Social Interaction

The frontal lobes or, more specifically, the prefrontal cortex located within the frontal lobes, possess the ability to access information and memories we accumulate that remind us how to communicate and interact appropriately in social or public situations. The frontal lobes are responsible for empathetic behavior, allowing us to understand the thinking and experiences of others. This understanding helps us take cues as to how to behave or respond in different types of social situations, such as the correct response to a job interview question, or understand the punch line of a joke. Damage to some areas of the frontal lobe can also affect sexual interest and activity.

Emotional Control

Much of what is known or theorized about brain function is the result of studying what happens when different parts of the brain are damaged. We know there is a connection between the frontal lobes and emotions, because damage to the left frontal lobe can result in a lack of emotional expression and damage to the right frontal lobe can lead to uninhibited, uncontrollable or exaggerated emotional responses. The frontal lobes appear to help us distinguish between different emotions and recognize and express appropriate emotions, such as changes in facial expressions.

Movement

Although movement and muscle coordination are centered in another part of the brain called the cerebellum, the frontal lobes control your voluntary muscles. These are the muscles you use to walk, run, dance, throw a football or make an other conscious movement. Spatial orientation, or the ability to determine the position of your body in space, is also a function of the frontal lobes.