The Cerebral Cortex

1. The Cerebral Cortex

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

13. How a cat’s brain works