The prefrontal cortex and flexible behavior.

The prefrontal cortex in primates guides behavior by selecting relevant stimuli for the task at hand, mediated through excitatory bidirectional pathways with structures associated with sensory processing, memory, and emotions. The prefrontal cortex also has a key role in suppressing irrelevant stimuli through a mechanism that is not well understood. Recent findings indicate that prefrontal pathways interface with laminar-specific neurochemical classes of inhibitory neurons in sensory cortices, terminate extensively in the frontal and sensory sectors of the inhibitory thalamic reticular nucleus, and target the inhibitory intercalated masses of the amygdala. Circuit-based models suggest that prefrontal pathways can select relevant signals and efficiently suppress distractors, in processes that are disrupted in schizophrenia and in other disorders affecting prefrontal cortices.