Cerebral Cortex Structure, Function & Memory

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key structures, functions, and memory concepts from the cerebral cortex lecture.

Cerebral Cortex

Outer 3 mm of the cerebrum; site of conscious mind, personality, sensation, voluntary movement, communication, and memory storage.

Gyri

Elevated ridges on the cortical surface that increase surface area for neurons.

Sulci

Shallow grooves between gyri that also expand cortical surface area.

Frontal Lobe

Cerebral lobe involved in voluntary motor control, language production, planning, and personality.

Parietal Lobe

Lobe that processes somatic sensations such as touch, temperature, and proprioception.

Temporal Lobe

Lobe responsible for hearing, language comprehension, and aspects of memory.

Occipital Lobe

Posterior lobe devoted primarily to visual processing.

Insula

Deep cortical lobe involved in taste, visceral sensation, and emotional awareness.

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Post-central gyrus region that receives raw touch, pressure, pain, and temperature signals from skin and muscles.

Somatosensory Association Cortex

Parietal area that interprets sensory input, allowing recognition of objects or conditions (e.g., ‘fire is hot’).

Primary Visual Cortex

Occipital area that receives basic visual information from the retinas.

Visual Association Cortex

Region surrounding the primary visual cortex that interprets visual stimuli (shape, color, movement).

Multimodal Association Areas

Cortical zones that integrate information from multiple senses with memories to form overall perception and meaning.

Wernicke’s Area

Temporal-parietal region that interprets spoken and written language; damage causes receptive aphasia.

Pre-frontal Cortex

Anterior frontal lobe area governing personality, motivation, judgment, and complex planning.

Pre-motor Cortex

Frontal area that plans and sequences voluntary movements before they are executed.

Primary Motor Cortex

Pre-central gyrus region sending final commands via corticospinal tract to skeletal muscles.

Broca’s Area

Frontal language area that organizes motor patterns for speech; damage leads to expressive aphasia.

Association Areas

Cortical regions that connect sensory input with stored memories to give context and meaning.

Hemispheric Lateralization

Specialization where certain higher functions (e.g., language, math, music) are dominantly processed in one cerebral hemisphere.

Corpus Callosum

Broad band of commissural fibers linking left and right hemispheres, enabling cross-communication.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Temporary ‘working’ storage of small information sets; lasts seconds to minutes.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Limitless, durable storage formed through rehearsal, association, and emotional arousal.

Declarative Memory

Memory of facts and events reliant on the hippocampus and acetylcholine; impaired in Alzheimer’s disease.

Procedural Memory

Memory of skills and habits mediated by the cerebellum and dopamine; lost in Parkinson’s disease.

Arousal (Study Strategy)

Being genuinely interested in material, which heightens attention and memory formation.

Association (Study Strategy)

Linking new information to existing knowledge to strengthen encoding.

Motivation (Study Strategy)

Personal drive or need that enhances focus and commitment to learning.

Practice (Study Strategy)

Repetition of material or skills in varied ways to consolidate memory traces.

Corticospinal Tract

Descending motor pathway carrying commands from primary motor cortex to spinal cord motor neurons.