View the time-lapse movie of the brain developing, courtesy of Dr. Paul Thompson, NIMH/UCLA Project Visualizes Maturing Brain

The frontal lobes are a large part of our brains, taking up about 1/3 of the outer cortex.  It is densely packed with networks and heavily interconnected.

The frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex) evaluate incoming sensory information, decide what actions to take, initiate those actions and then monitor and learn from the results of those decisions.  The frontal lobes receive sensory information, check out what they experienced in the past in similar situations and then uses that information to decide what to do next. 

The frontal lobes are therefore involved in a wide variety of abilities:

• the ability to move and speak fluently by planning, initiating, directing and inhibiting action sequences

• attention, by deciding which sensory events are important and meaningful

• problem solving, by evaluating events and deciding what to do about them

• understanding and using language and other forms of communication

• impulse control

• social and sexual behaviors

• learning from context  

Children with sensory processing disorders usually exhibit impairments that are typically seen in individuals with frontal lobe damage or abnormalities.  The symptoms include: immature behavior, poor impulse control, learning problems, difficulty initiating, difficulty understanding social cues, rigidity (dislikes change), perseveration, language delays, and attention problems.  

Activities that require the frontal lobes help stimulate development in these areas and improve frontal lobe functions.  Click here to see suggestions for frontal lobe activities.