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Cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle,[1] is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. It is the largest site of neural integration in the central nervous system,[2] and plays a key role in attention, perception, awareness, thought, memory, language, and consciousness. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain responsible for cognition.

For the scientific journal, see Cerebral Cortex (journal). For the cerebellar cortex, see Cerebellum § Gross anatomy.

Cerebral cortex

Cerebrum

cortex cerebri

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The six-layered neocortex makes up approximately 90% of the cortex, with the allocortex making up the remainder.[3] The cortex is divided into left and right parts by the longitudinal fissure, which separates the two cerebral hemispheres that are joined beneath the cortex by the corpus callosum. In most mammals, apart from small mammals that have small brains, the cerebral cortex is folded, providing a greater surface area in the confined volume of the cranium. Apart from minimising brain and cranial volume, cortical folding is crucial for the brain circuitry and its functional organisation.[4] In mammals with small brains, there is no folding and the cortex is smooth.[5][6]


A fold or ridge in the cortex is termed a gyrus (plural gyri) and a groove is termed a sulcus (plural sulci). These surface convolutions appear during fetal development and continue to mature after birth through the process of gyrification. In the human brain, the majority of the cerebral cortex is not visible from the outside, but buried in the sulci.[7] The major sulci and gyri mark the divisions of the cerebrum into the lobes of the brain. The four major lobes are the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes. Other lobes are the limbic lobe, and the insular cortex often referred to as the insular lobe.


There are between 14 and 16 billion neurons in the human cerebral cortex.[2] These are organised into horizontal cortical layers, and radially into cortical columns and minicolumns. Cortical areas have specific functions such as movement in the motor cortex, and sight in the visual cortex. The motor cortex is primarily located in the precentral gyrus, and the visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe.

The neocortex is also known as the isocortex or neopallium and is the part of the mature cerebral cortex with six distinct layers. Examples of neocortical areas include the granular , and the striate primary visual cortex. The neocortex has two subtypes, the true isocortex and the proisocortex which is a transitional region between the isocortex and the regions of the periallocortex.

primary motor cortex

The allocortex is the part of the cerebral cortex with three or four layers, and has three subtypes, the with three cortical laminae, the archicortex which has four or five, and a transitional area adjacent to the allocortex, the periallocortex. Examples of allocortex are the olfactory cortex and the hippocampus.

paleocortex

which executes voluntary movements [67]

Primary motor cortex

and premotor cortex, which select voluntary movements.[68]

Supplementary motor areas

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History[edit]

In 1909, Korbinian Brodmann distinguished different areas of the neocortex based on cytoarchitectural difference and divided the cerebral cortex into 52 regions.[80]


Rafael Lorente de Nó, a student of Santiago Ramon y Cajal identified more than 40 different types of cortical neurons based on the distribution of their dendrites and axons.[80]

Lateral surface of the human cerebral cortex

Lateral surface of the human cerebral cortex

Medial surface of the human cerebral cortex

Medial surface of the human cerebral cortex

Tissue slice from the brain of an adult macaque monkey. The cerebral cortex is depicted in dark violet.

Tissue slice from the brain of an adult macaque monkey. The cerebral cortex is depicted in dark violet.

at NeuroNames

hier-20

at the BrainMaps project

Stained brain slice images which include the "cerebral cortex"

Webvision: Comprehensive article about the structure and function of the primary visual cortex.

"The primary visual cortex"

Webvision: Image of the basic cell types of the monkey cerebral cortex.

"Basic cell types"

Cerebral Cortex – Cell Centered Database

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