The Cerebral Cortex

Cerebral Cortex• Cerebral Cortex – the

interconnected neural cells that form the cerebral hemispheres

• This is the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

• The cortex covers the lower-level structures

• The wrinkles allow more brain tissue to be packed into the skull

• 30 billion nerve cells in 1/8 inch of brain tissue

Cerebral Cortex Cont’d• Longitudinal fissure –

the crack that runs from the front to the back of the cerebral cortex, separating the left and right hemispheres

• Corpus callosum – band of neural tissue in the longitudinal fissure that allows both sides of the brain to communicate with each other

Brain Lobes• Frontal lobe – controls your most advanced cognitive abilities,

such as judgment and planning

• The frontal lobes rational abilities connects with regions of the limbic system that controls emotion

Brain Lobes Cont’d

• Parietal Lobes – association areas – region for general processing and mathematical reasoning

• Occipital Lobes – visual processing centers of the brain

• Temporal Lobes – area of the brain that deals with auditory cortex and processes sound

Brain Lobes Cont’d• Motor Cortex – strip of tissue

along the back edge of the frontal lobe

• Different parts of the motor cortex control different parts of your body

• The motor cortex is cross wired

• The left side of the motor cortex controls the right side of your body, and the right side of the brain controls the left

Brain Lobes Cont’d• Somatosensory cortex –

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes the body’s sensations

• Your somatosensory cortex devotes more brain tissue to areas of your body that are more sensitive to touch

• Ex. Fingertips vs. Arms

Broca’s Area

• This is located in the Frontal Lobe, on the left-hand side

• It is involved with expressive language – If Broca’s area has damage, a person will be able

to form ideas, but not communicate them with speech

– Strokes can lead to this damage

Wernicke’s Area

• This is also located in the left-hand side of the brain, but in the temporal lobe

• This helps control receptive language– Your ability to understand what someone says, all

language comprehension

Brain Plasticity

• This is the ability for the tissue of the brain to assume new functions

• If an area of the brain is damaged, other areas of the brain can reorganize to assume the responsibility of the damaged area.

• More plastic in younger years.

How a cat’s brain works