Meaning & use
frontal lobe
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedicalbiology
Either of the two front sections of the brain's cerebral cortex, involved in decision-making, planning, and controlling behavior.
Grammar: Countable: one frontal lobe, two frontal lobes. Often used with 'the' when referring to a specific person's brain.
Patterns
- the frontal lobe
- damage to the frontal lobe
- the frontal lobe of the brain
The frontal lobe helps you plan ahead and make decisions.
Injury to the frontal lobe can change a person's personality.
Scientists studied how the frontal lobe develops in teenagers.
Word forms
| plural | frontal lobes |
|---|
Common combinations
- frontal lobe damage
- The accident caused frontal lobe damage that affected his speech.
- the frontal lobe of the brain
- The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for complex thinking.
- frontal lobe function
- Researchers are mapping frontal lobe function in young children.
- left frontal lobe
- The left frontal lobe is often linked to language production.
Word family
- frontal adjective
- Relating to the front part of something, especially the forehead or the front of the brain.
Commonly confused: frontal lobe or prefrontal cortex?
frontal lobe vs prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex is the very front part of the frontal lobe, involved in higher-level thinking. The frontal lobe is larger and includes more areas.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'frontal lobe' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The frontal lobe is at the front of the brain and is involved in decision-making, so option 1 fits. It is not at the back, not a bone, and not in the heart.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frontal lobe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.