Is attention and concentration a function of the hippocampus or the prefrontal cortex (PFC)?

Attention and Concentration: Prefrontal Cortex Function

Attention and concentration are primarily functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), not the hippocampus. The PFC controls executive functions including planning, impulse control, working memory, and attentional switching, which are the core components of attention and concentration 1.

Primary Neural Substrate

The prefrontal cortex serves as the critical neural substrate for attention and concentration through its executive control mechanisms:

• The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex specifically controls executive functions such as planning, impulse control, working memory, and goal-driven attention 1, 2
• PFC dysfunction in ADHD demonstrates 8.1% lower cerebral glucose metabolism, with the greatest differences in the superior prefrontal cortex and premotor areas 1
• The prefrontal cortex actively maintains access to stimulus representations and goals in interference-rich contexts, which is essential for sustained attention 3

Mechanism of Attentional Control

The PFC exerts top-down control over attention through specific dopaminergic and noradrenergic pathways:

• Stimulant medications enhance dopamine and norepinephrine in the prefrontal cortex, ameliorating deficits in inhibitory control and working memory that underlie attention problems 1, 4
• The prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in switching attentional control based on changing task demands 5
• Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhances complex attention and working memory performance 1

Hippocampal Role: Memory, Not Attention

The hippocampus is involved in memory formation and flexible use of cognitive behavior, but not in primary attentional processes:

• The hippocampus is critical for long-term declarative memory formation and relational memory, not attention or concentration 6
• During symptom provocation in OCD studies, hippocampal activation relates to emotional processing and memory retrieval, not attentional control 1
• The hippocampus contributes to decision-making through memory-based processes, which is distinct from the attentional control functions of the PFC 6

Clinical Evidence from Pathology

Disorders of attention demonstrate prefrontal, not hippocampal, dysfunction:

• Meta-analyses of 28 fMRI studies show decreased task-relevant activation in the prefrontal cortex during executive function tasks requiring attention 1, 7
• The medial prefrontal cortex is specifically underactivated during cognitive control tasks in conditions with impaired attention 1
• Prefrontal lesions result in selective impairment in the ability to switch top-down attentional control, while hippocampal lesions do not produce primary attentional deficits 5

Network Interactions

While the PFC is the primary controller of attention, it operates within distributed networks:

• Fronto-parietal networks show enhanced activation during attentional switching, with the PFC playing the critical executive role 5
• The caudate nucleus (part of frontostriatal circuits) shows decreased activation during executive function tasks, but the PFC remains the primary controller 1, 7
• The PFC generates top-down control signals that are fed back to posterior visual processing areas during attention tasks 5