Also recognized as the forebrain, the prosencephalon gives rise to the diencephalon and the telencephelon. The prosencephalon emerges from the top, or front end of the neural tube, the most rostral of three vessicles that arise from the neural tube.

Profound development of prosencephalon areas in adult humans, especially the cerebrum and its neocortex, creates the physiological basis for many of humans' unique skills related to memory, planning, conjecture and fabrication.