Cerebral Cortex Overview and Functions

Cerebral Cortex

The outer wrinkled surface of the cerebrum responsible for receiving info, controlling responses, voluntary movements, and higher-order thinking.

4 Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, Occipital

Frontal Lobe

Initiates movement, language, planning, judging, problem-solving, personality, and emotions.

Parietal Lobe

Processes touch and body position (proprioception) through somatosensory input.

Temporal Lobe

Handles language understanding, memory, face/object recognition, and auditory processing.

Occipital Lobe

Responsible for visual perception—colour, form, and motion.

Primary Motor Cortex

Controls skeletal muscle movement; found in the frontal lobe.

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Processes touch, pressure, temp, and pain; found in the parietal lobe.

Primary Auditory Cortex

Receives sound from the ears; found in the temporal lobe.

Primary Visual Cortex

Processes info from the eyes; found in the occipital lobe.

Cerebrum

Inner layer under the cortex (grey and white matter), made of right & left hemispheres. Controls voluntary movement, thought, imagination, judgement, decision-making.

Corpus Callosum

Connects the right and left hemispheres, allowing them to communicate.