What is the cortex?
Cerebral cortex is the farthest layer of the brain in complex animals such as mammals, including humans. Despite the thickness of less than 0.2 inches (5 mm), it is responsible for most higher brain functions, including language, memory and consciousness. The cortex is in itself composed in complex grooves to help and accelerate brain activity. In the brain preserved for study, the cerebral cortex is gray, which inspires the phrase "gray matter", often carelessly used to refer to any part of the brain. The grooves that condense the cortex are called sulci and the ridges formed by this process are called gyri. This structure allows more strength of mental processing in a smaller space and also allows neurons involved in similar brain functions to communicate more quickly. The brain with more grooves and combs is smarter; This means that it can keep more information and process faster.
cerebral cortex in humans has six layers, each of which deals with different mental or physical functioni. Parts of the brain dealing with sensory inputs have thinner cortical layers, while those dealing with motor functions are stronger. Each cortical area has a different brain function. The cortex functions include problems, emotional reaction, comprehensive engine control, language, memory, speech and processing of complex sensory data such as vision and sound.
These functions are not evenly distributed. The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, right and left, and each hemisphere has its own specialized functions. For example, the right hemisphere processes comprehensive visual data and focused attention. The left hemisphere processes the tongue and each hemisphere deals with various emotions. The left or right -hander suggests that the opposite brain Hemisphere is "dominant" in this individual.
The so -called gray matter is in fact grayly brown in living tissue due to blood flow to the brain. Gray regions are nerve cells notBO neurons that occur in the brain and nervous system. It is their concentration in the cortex that gives the brain known color.
under the cerebral peel is "white matter", which again looks different depending on whether the brain lives or preserves. White matter is made of cellular structures called axons that transmit information from neurons to other parts of the brain and body. Deeper brain control areas of basic, involuntary functions such as heart rhythm, breathing and digestion.