2.3 - The Cerebral Cortex

Cerebral Cortex

the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

Frontal Lobes

involved in speaking and muscles movements and in making plans and judgements; associated with personality

Parietal Lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

Occipital Lobes

includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

Temporal Lobes

includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite

Motor Cortex

a cerebral cortex area at the reader of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory Cortex

a cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Association Areas

involved in higher mental functions such as interpreting, integrating, and acting on information processed in other areas

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

Corpus Callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying mesages between them

Split Brains

condition resulting from surgery that separates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them