Definition of "prefrontal" [pre•fron•tal]

• Of, relating to, or situated in the anterior part of the frontal lobe. (adjective)
• Situated anterior to the frontal bone. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the 1930s, Dr. Egas Moniz, a Portuguese neurologist, began experimenting with a new form of what became known as the prefrontal lobotomy, a radical surgery that severed nerve fibers in the part of the brain associated with emotions."
• "To address the question of whether intention might be reflected in prefrontal cortical activity, the researchers in the new work used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain activity while subjects concentrated on their choice of intended mental action, but prior to execution of the action."
• "In the teenagers an unexpectedly high level of activity was observed in the part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is a region known to be involved in multi-tasking and making decisions."