Anatomy of executive functions

Executive deficits have been associated with damage to the most forward areas of the frontal lobes (located just above your eyes), as well as the cortical and subcortical structures that connect to the frontal lobes. The executive system involves the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia and thalamus.

The frontal lobes are the last areas of the brain to fully develop. This area of the brain was evolutionarily late to appear and is much larger in human beings than in our closest non-human primate relatives. The frontal lobes typically account for about 40% of the human brain.