Behavior center, moral

An area of the brain in what is known as the prefrontal cortex.

Children who suffer damage before 16 months of age to the prefrontal cortex in the front of the brain tend later to display pathological behavior problems.

From such cases, it has been inferred that the area damaged in the prefrontal cortex is responsible for moral behavior.

Integrity of this area of the brain appears necessary for acquiring specific forms of knowledge necessary for regulating behavior.

(Reference: Nature Neuroscience 1999;2:1032-1037, 927-929.