The cerebral cortex is the outer cover of the cerebrum, i.e. the largest part of the brain with connections to all parts of the body. Its folded and wrinkled surface forms the lobes of the cerebral cortex.
Containing more than 50 billion nerve cells, the cerebral cortex of the brain regulates and controls most of the processes and functions in the cerebrum.
What are the Functions of the Cerebral Cortex?
Since many mental functions (such as thought, feelings, emotions, awareness, memory, voluntary muscle activity, learning, and language) are not controlled by a single region of the brain, the cerebral cortex is divided into several so-called centers which help control and regulate most of the mental processes that are activated in the brain.
These mental processes and functions include:
- learning and understanding languages,
- consciousness,
- thinking,
- processing information from the sensory organs,
- determining intelligence,
- planning,
- organization,
- the execution of tasks and plans,
- focusing,
- the coordination of bodily movements, etc.
What Is the Cerebral Cortex Made Of?
The cerebral cortex is created by an enormous network of neurons. It’s made of thin, folded, gray matter (meninges) which consists of neurons. This brain layer is divided into two parts, i.e. cortices by a fissure which divides the cerebrum into the left and right hemisphere of the brain by its length.
The cerebral cortex follows the folds and furrows of the cerebrum in order to cover its entire surface. These folds in the brain, called gyri, create deep furrows labeled as sulci. The furrows and the folds of the brain divide the cerebral cortex into five regions or lobes. Each one of them performs a specific function within the cerebral cortex.
Furthermore, the furrows can be complete or incomplete. The folds, on the other hand, increase the gray matter, thus increasing the quantity of the information which is processed in the brain.
Some of the regions located in the cortex of the brain are called primary sensory areas. These primary sensory areas receive sensory information from a particular sense and process them. Also, there are motor areas that regulate the voluntary movement of the body.
The cerebral cortex has a highly complex function, since it’s responsible for both the regulation and control of the most complex mental processes: language and the processing of information.
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
With the help of the fissures and the folds, each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex is divided into five regions called lobes, i.e. centers of regulation of specific brain functions. All of the lobes are located on the surface of the brain, in the largest part of the brain known as prosencephalon.
The names of the lobes are mostly derived from the names of the skull bones that protect and cover them:
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe
- Insular
The Frontal Lobe
The frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex is located in front of the parietal lobe, in the front part of the brain. This lobe is the largest one of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex, which regulates and controls some of the most vital information which is processed in our brain.
Namely, it controls bodily movements, cognitive skills (speech, memory, language, problem-solving abilities, thinking), emotions and emotional expressions, creativity, etc.
All these functions make it the center of our personality traits, as well as the communication center of our brain.
The frontal lobe is further divided into the following areas:
- Motor cortex – this area in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex regulates the voluntary movements of the body. According to the signals transferred by the neurons from this center of the brain, we know how and when to coordinate the movements of our legs and arms, it helps us control the posture of our body, sends us signals on how to use our fingers, etc.
- Prefrontal cortex – this area located right behind our forehead coordinates the neuron impulses from different parts of the brain, and regulates the complex human behavior by controlling the emotions, motivation, helping us focus the attention and with the future planning, ignore distractions, create and execute plans, organize actions in a logical sequence. It also plays an immense role in the forming of our character.
- Drill Area – this area of the frontal lobe directly receives the impulses coming from the tongue, mouth, and larynx, thus helping us with the physical reproduction of speech.
The Parietal Lobe
The parietal lobe is located near the center of the brain. More precisely, it settles above the temporal lobe, in front of the occipital lobe, and behind the frontal lobe. It works together with the motor and the visual cortex in order to control and regulate more complex and logical processes in the brain, such as learning languages or mathematics.
It also presents a region in the brain cortex which functions as a center of regulation of the pain, temperature, spatial orientation, as well as all the sensory information received from all the parts of the body including and the senses of smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste.
The Temporal Lobe
The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is located behind the temples of our head, behind the frontal and parietal lobe, and in front of the occipital lobe.
This region of the cerebral cortex regulates and controls our basic abilities, such as hearing and speaking. Through this area of our brain, we recognize sounds, as it’s in charge of the processing of information received through our ears.
The temporal lobe also governs memory, visual recognition, comprehension, taste, and emotional control.
The Occipital Lobe
The occipital lobe is the smallest one of the four lobes in the cerebral cortex, but it’s very important in function nonetheless. This brain region is divided into the left and right occipital lobes, both located at the back of the brain, right between the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the cerebellum.
This cerebral cortex region of the brain is in charge of the information received through the signals sent by the sensory nerves of our eyes. Through this area of the brain, we understand what our eyes are seeing.
The visual cortex is a part of the occipital lobe. This is the area where the brain receives information from the eye retina in order to process it.
The visual cortex further creates the primary, secondary, and tertiary visual area of the occipital lobe, which are responsible for more detailed processing of the information we receive through our eyes, such as codifying memories, assigning meaning to particular memories, telling the distance of objects, color analysis, dealing with our past visual experiences, etc.
The Insular Lobe
Located under the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes of both brain hemispheres, the insular lobe (or simply – insula) presents a part of the cerebral cortex which regulates our emotions. This includes the control and regulation of our compassion, empathy, consciousness, i.e. all of the higher-level brain functions which separate humans from the other living beings with a central nervous system.
The insular lobe also assists the controlling of the motor functions of the body, the perception of pain, basic emotions (such as joy, happiness, anger), recognizing emotions, etc.
The General Sensory and Association Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
While certain regions of the cerebral cortex perform specific and more complex functions of the brain, some of those regions have more generalized functions. Such are the following areas of the cerebral cortex:
- Sensory association cortex – This sensory association part of the cortex coordinates the general information from the sensory organs for taste, smell, sound, touch, and sight. This is the place where these processes first begin.
- Visual association cortex – Located in the occipital lobe, the visual association part of the cortex coordinates the general information we receive from the eyes. It helps us connect the visual data we receive with memory, emotions, and the other senses.
- Primary visual cortex – An area at the parietal lobe, this part of the cerebral cortex is the first to analyze the signals from the eyes which are transferred by the nerves directly to this part of the brain. This is where the conscious processing of visual information begins.
- Auditory association cortex – This sensory association part of the cortex coordinates the general sound information with memories, emotions, as well as with the other senses. The basic processes performed in this part of the cerebral cortex allow us to be able to switch from one language to another, recognize music, and what others are speaking.
- Broca’s area – This area is located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex and presents the region of the brain where the speech is produced.
- Wernicke’s area -This area is located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex, in the left part of the brain. It enables us to comprehend the logical and grammatical structure of a language, both in spoken and written form, i.e. it regulates our fluency in a language.
To Sum Up
The cerebral cortex of the brain represents the largest gray part of the brain which regulates most complex processes. It has a characteristic look created by the furrows and folds which divide this part of the brain into lobes. The lobes function as specific centers of the brain, regulating and controlling both distinct and mutual processes.
It also consists of general sensory and association areas that have the task of receiving the first signals from the corresponding sensory areas or parts of the body.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
- The temporal lobe is the region in the brain where we receive the response to fight or run away in a conflict situation.
- The frontal lobe is the part of the brain responsible for the first distinct characteristic that separates us from animals, due to the intellectual processes that are regulated in this particular area in the cerebral cortex.
- The frontal lobe is also considered to be both the largest and most important lobe in the cerebral cortex (it occupies almost ⅓ of the human brain).
- The parietal lobe is the part of the cerebral cortex where languages and mathematical operations are processed.
- The insular lobe plays a vital role in how we perceive sensory perceptions and emotions. For instance, due to the way it processes sensory perceptions, we experience pain as unpleasant.
- The insular lobe also plays a great role in our inclination toward shopping and other addictions, such as gambling.
- In case the insular lobe suffers an injury, it can result in difficulties while speaking, with the sense of smell, we could stop feeling pain, develop addictions, have difficulty in developing relationships with other people, etc.
- The Broca’s area is actually the ‘writer’ in our brain – it helps us put our thoughts into words in a logical sequence.
- In case the Wernicke’s area suffers an injury, the person will lose language fluency and will start speaking in phrases, rather than in sentences.
- A newborn baby starts to recognize the world around itself through the functions of the occipital lobe.