Prefrontal synthesis

<p>Prefrontal synthesis (PFS, also known as mental synthesis) is the conscious purposeful process of synthesizing novel <a href="/facts/Mental_images/loHqqIHB">mental images</a>. PFS is neurologically different from the other types of imagination, such as simple memory recall and dreaming. Unlike <a href="/facts/Dream/BdJDoVmg">dreaming</a>, which is spontaneous and not controlled by the <a href="/facts/Prefrontal_cortex/dypYIrwx">prefrontal cortex</a> (PFC), PFS is controlled by and completely dependent on the intact <a href="/facts/Lateral_prefrontal_cortex/dGIPXMRM">lateral prefrontal cortex</a>. Unlike simple memory recall that involves activation of a single <a href="/facts/Neuronal_ensemble/6kbaP899">neuronal ensemble</a> (NE) encoded at some point in the past, PFS involves active combination of two or more <a href="/facts/Neural_ensemble/6kbaP899">object-encoding neuronal ensembles</a> (objectNE). The mechanism of PFS is hypothesized to involve synchronization of several independent objectNEs. When objectNEs fire out-of-sync, the objects are perceived one at a time. However, once those objectNEs are time-shifted by the lateral PFC to fire in-phase with each other, they are consciously experienced as one unified object or scene.
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Prefrontal synthesis open-in-new

Prefrontal synthesis