Behavioral planning in the prefrontal cortex

Recent studies have presented evidence that the prefrontal cortex plays a c rucial role in every aspect of the cognitive processes necessary for behavi oral planning: processing and integration of perceived or memorized informa tion, associative learning, reward-based behavioral control, behavioral sel ection/decision-making and behavioral guidance. We propose that the creatio n of novel information is the means by which the prefrontal cortex operates to achieve executive control over behavioral planning. The prefrontal cort ex is the site of operation of nodal points, where neural circuits integrat e currently available or memorized information to generate the information that is necessary to perform an action. The prefrontal cortex also regulate s the flow of information through multiple nodes to meet behavioral demands .