Functional Areas of Cerebral Cortex

Primary Motor Cortex

Type of Area: Motor Area

Lobe/Location: Precentral gyrus of frontal lobe

Function: Sends signals to skeletal muscles for voluntary movement

Premotor Cortex

Type of Area: Motor Area

Lobe/Location: Frontal lobe, anterior to primary motor cortex

Function: Plans and coordinates learned voluntary movements

Broca’s Area

Type of Area: Motor area

Lobe/Location: Frontal lobe, usually left hemisphere

Function: Controls speech production and speaking movements

Prefrontal Cortex

Type of Area: Association (integration) area

Lobe/Location: Anterior frontal lobe

Function: Involved in judgment, planning, personality, and decision-making

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Type of Area: Sensory area

Lobe/Location: Postcentral gyrus of parietal lobe

Function: Processes touch, pain, pressure, temperature, and proprioception

Primary Visual Cortex

Type of Area: Sensory area

Lobe/Location: Occipital lobe

Function: Receives and processes visual information

Primary Auditory Cortex

Type of Area: Sensory area

Lobe/Location: Temporal lobe

Function: Processes hearing and sound information

Wernicke’s Area

Type of Area: Association (integration) area

Lobe/Location: Temporal/parietal region, usually left hemisphere

Function: Responsible for language comprehension and understanding speech

Primary Gustatory Cortex

Type of Area: Sensory area

Lobe/Location: Insula/parietal region

Function: Processes taste sensations

Primary Olfactory Cortex

Type of Area: Sensory area

Lobe/Location: Temporal lobe

Function: Processes smell information