The prefrontal cortex has been identified as the primary neural substrate necessary for the aforementioned cognitive processes (Fuster, 2002). From a developmental perspective, it has been noted that the ability to perform executive functions increases parallel to the development of the prefrontal cortex from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood (Luciana, 2003; Sowell, Thompson, Holmes, Jernigan, & Toga, 1999). Although adolescent brains are no longer increasing in size, synaptic connections are made more efficient through axon myelination and synaptic pruning (see Brown & Tapert, 2004; Clark & Tapert, 2008 for review). This ongoing process of structural and functional development suggests that differences in neuroanatomical development could then impact the cognitive processes subsumed by this brain region.
