The PFC is extensively interconnected not only between cortical layers but also between subregions, and this connectivity helps to define distinct neural networks that exert behavioral control. The portion of the lateral PFC dorsal to the fundus of the principal sulcus receives afferent projections mainly from the medial PFC and belongs to the dorsolateral PFC network, whereas that portion that lies ventral to the principal sulcus receives afferent projections mostly from the OFC and belongs to the ventrolateral (sometimes referred to as orbitoventral) PFC network (Barbas and Pandya, 1989; Ongur and Price, 2000). In addition to reciprocal connections with the thalamus, the lateral PFC is connected either directly or indirectly with virtually all areas of the neocortex and hippocampus and has dense efferent projections to the dorsal caudate nucleus (e.g., dorsal striatum). There are distinct medial and orbital PFC networks that are also characterized by cortico-cortical connections and connections with brain regions outside the PFC. The medial PFC is connected with the thalamus and sends efferents to the hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray, and belongs to a network that plays a
