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The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, 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, 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.
The limbic system, also known as the paleomammalian cortex, is a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the medial temporal lobe of the cerebrum primarily in the forebrain.
The vertebrate cerebrum (brain) is formed by two cerebral hemispheres that are separated by a groove, the longitudinal fissure. The brain can thus be described as being divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres. Each of these hemispheres has an outer layer of grey matter, the cerebral cortex, that is supported by an inner layer of white matter. In eutherian (placental) mammals, the hemispheres are linked by the corpus callosum, a very large bundle of nerve fibers. Smaller commissures, including the anterior commissure, the posterior commissure and the fornix, also join the hemispheres and these are also present in other vertebrates. These commissures transfer information between the two hemispheres to coordinate localized functions.
A Brodmann area is a region of the cerebral cortex, in the human or other primate brain, defined by its cytoarchitecture, or histological structure and organization of cells. The concept was first introduced by the German anatomist Korbinian Brodmann in the early 20th century. Brodmann mapped the human brain based on the varied cellular structure across the cortex and identified 52 distinct regions, which he numbered 1 to 52. These regions, or Brodmann areas, correspond with diverse functions including sensation, motor control, and cognition.
The neocortex, also called the neopallium, isocortex, or the six-layered cortex, is a set of layers of the mammalian cerebral cortex involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition, generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning and language. The neocortex is further subdivided into the true isocortex and the proisocortex.
Dopaminergic pathways in the human brain are involved in both physiological and behavioral processes including movement, cognition, executive functions, reward, motivation, and neuroendocrine control. Each pathway is a set of projection neurons, consisting of individual dopaminergic neurons.
The archicortex, or archipallium, is the phylogenetically second oldest region of the brain's cerebral cortex. It is often considered contiguous with the olfactory cortex, but its extent varies among species. In older species, such as fish, the archipallium makes up most of the cerebrum. Amphibians develop an archipallium and paleopallium.
Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping or neural oscillation. Other forms of neuroplasticity include homologous area adaptation, cross modal reassignment, map expansion, and compensatory masquerade. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, information acquisition, environmental influences, pregnancy, caloric intake, practice/training, and psychological stress.
The allocortex, or heterogenetic cortex, and neocortex are the two types of cerebral cortex in the brain. In the human brain, the allocortex is the much smaller area of cortex taking up just 10%; the neocortex takes up the remaining 90%. It is characterized by having just three or four cortical layers, in contrast with the six layers of the neocortex. There are three subtypes of allocortex: the paleocortex, the archicortex, and the periallocortex—a transitional zone between the neocortex and the allocortex.
The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is the caudal part of the cingulate cortex, located posterior to the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the upper part of the "limbic lobe". The cingulate cortex is made up of an area around the midline of the brain. Surrounding areas include the retrosplenial cortex and the precuneus.
In anatomy of animals, the paleocortex, or paleopallium, is a region within the telencephalon in the vertebrate brain. This type of cortical tissue consists of three cortical laminae. In comparison, the neocortex has six layers and the archicortex has three or four layers. Because the number of laminae that compose a type of cortical tissue seems to be directly proportional to both the information-processing capabilities of that tissue and its phylogenetic age, paleocortex is thought to be an intermediate between the archicortex and the neocortex in both aspects.
The paralimbic cortex is an area of three-layered cortex that includes the following regions: the piriform cortex, entorhinal cortex, the parahippocampal cortex on the medial surface of the temporal lobe, and the cingulate cortex just above the corpus callosum.
In neuroanatomy, pallium refers to the layers of grey and white matter that cover the upper surface of the cerebrum in vertebrates. The non-pallial part of the telencephalon builds the subpallium. In basal vertebrates, the pallium is a relatively simple three-layered structure, encompassing 3–4 histogenetically distinct domains, plus the olfactory bulb.
Mesocortex is the transitional areas of the cerebral cortex, formed at borders between true isocortex and true allocortex. Parts of mesocortex that lie closer to the true isocortex and have more resemblance to the isocortex in their cytoarchitectonics and histology, are called proisocortex. Parts of mesocortex that lie closer to the true allocortex and have more resemblance to the allocortex in their cytoarchitectonics and histology, are called periallocortex.
Periallocortex is one of three subtypes of allocortex, the other two subtypes being paleocortex and archicortex. The periallocortex is formed at transition areas where any of the other two subtypes of allocortex borders with the neocortex.
Peripaleocortex is one of two subtypes of periallocortex, the other being periarchicortex. Peripaleocortex is formed at borders between isocortex (neocortex) and paleocortex. It shows slow histological transition from the three-layered structure characteristic of paleocortex to the typical six-layered structure characteristic of isocortex. The main peripaleocortex area is anterior insular cortex.
Periarchicortex is one of two subtypes of periallocortex, the other being peripaleocortex. It is formed at borders between archicortex and isocortex and shows slow histological transition from the four-layered structure typical for archicortex to the six-layered structure typical for isocortex.
Septum Verum is a region in the lower medial part of the telencephalon that separates the two cerebral hemispheres. The human septum consists of two parts: the septum pellucidum, a thin membrane consisting of white matter and glial cells that separate the lateral ventricles, and the lower, precommisural septum verum, which consists of nuclei and grey matter. The term is sometimes used synonymously with Area Septalis, to refer to the precommisural part of the lower base of the telencephalon. The Septum verum contains the septal nuclei, which are usually considered part of the limbic system.
The neomammalian brain is one of three aspects of Paul MacLean's triune theory of the human brain. MacLean was an American physician and neuroscientist who formulated his model in the 1960s, which was published in his own 1990 book The Triune Brain in Evolution. MacLean's three-part theory explores how the human brain has evolved from ancestors over millions of years, consisting of the reptilian, paleomammalian and neomammalian complexes. MacLean proposes that the neomammalian complex is only found in higher order mammals, for example, the human brain, accounting for increased cognitive ability such as motor control, memory, improved reasoning and complex decision-making.
References
- 1 2 "Proisocortex". BrainInfo. University of Washington. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ↑ "Mesocortex". BrainInfo. University of Washington. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
