Intro | Primary Auditory Cortex | Central Fissure | Frontal Lobe | Lateral Fissure | Primary Motor Cortex | Occipital Lobe | Parietal Lobe | Primary Somatosensory Cortex | Temporal Lobe | Primary Visual Cortex
Part 1: Image-Mapped Tutorial
Part 2: Matching Self-Test
Part 3: Multiple-Choice Self-Test
The cerebral cortex consists of gray matter (neuronal cell bodies) that form the outer, convoluted layer of the cerebrum. The convolutions or hills and valleys of the cerebral cortex evolved as a means of increasing the surface area, thereby providing additional neural control for expanding abilities. Our most complex mental activities are controlled within the approximately 1.5 square feet of surface area comprising the human cerebral cortex. These mental activities include remembering, learning, problem solving, planning, awareness, and the execution of complex responses in the world. The cerebral cortex is divided on each side or hemisphere into four separate regions based on the lobe or distinct section that it covers.
Figure 9 identifies the four lobes, important cortical landmarks, and describes the location and primary functions of several important cortical areas.
| Advanced |
In addition to divisions based on structure, anatomists often divide the cerebral cortex into 3 areas based on the fundamental processing (sensory, association, and motor) that distinguishes these areas. Although these processing distinctions are not absolute, they do help to organize the general sequential flow of information throughout the nervous system. Sensory information from the outside world enters the brain via the spinal cord and stops at the thalamus for processing, before this information is conveyed to the primary sensory cortical areas. Each of the primary sensory areas (as well as nuclei of the thalamus) project to the association cortical areas within the parietal and temporal lobes where cross-modal information is used for problem-solving and stored for long-term use. Once a decision is made to respond, the information is transmitted to association cortical areas within the frontal lobe where the motor activity is planned, organized, and finally executed.
| Suggestions for further study |
Beardsley, T. (1997, August). The machinery of thought. Scientific American, 78-83.
Chalmers, D.J. (1995, December). The puzzle of conscious experience. Scientific American, 80-86.
Finn, R. (1991, June). Different minds, Discover, 12 (6),
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Wilson's Syndrome.
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Association areas of frontal and parietal lobes.
Horgan, J. (1993, December). Fractured functions. Does the brain have a supreme integrator ?, Scientific American, 269(6), 36-37.
Kennedy, J.M. (1997, January). How the blind draw. Scientific American, 76-81.
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The neuropsychology of mathematics.
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This book contains an excellent series of case studies that
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