Primary Function – thin layer of neurons that covers the surface of all the

convolution of cerebrum. This layer is 2-5 mm thick and has a total area of 25% of
the square meter of the brain.
3 neurons:
- Granular- stellate
- Fusiform
- Pyramidal – giant neurons and has pyramid shapes
Neurons in The Cortex
 Granular- interneuron and generally short found in the cerebral cortex
(brain).
- Function is to transmit signals between short distances from neurons to
neurons.
- Some can be excitatory (glutamate); other will release inhibitory
neurotransmitters GABA
- Sensory areas of the cortex as well as other association areas (motor) will
have a large concentrations of GRANULE CELLS.
 Pyramidal and Fusiform- output fibers
- Pyramidal cells are much larger and numerous than the Fusiform cells,
- source of long, large fibers that go all the way to the spinal cord.
- Pyramidal cells are the one responsible for the corticospinal tract.
CEREBRAL CORTEX & THALAMUS
 Thalamocortical System: Thalamus & Cortex
 When both are damaged, the lost of cerebral function is very much
greater than when only the cortex alone is damaged.
 Majority parts of the brain has connection with the thalamus.
 Signals go to the THALAMUS and back to the CORTEX. When connection
to both parts is cut, both parts will be damaged.
 Almost all pathway in the sensory receptors of the cortex will go
through the thalamus EXCEPT the OLFACTION (smell).
FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF THE CORTEX
 Motor Cortex
  Primary Sensory- detect specific sensations such as visual, auditory
and somatic sensations that are transmitted to the brain from
peripheral sensory organ.
- Will detect sensory input
Ex: vision- eyes, auditory- ears, somatic- skin and other areas of the
body.
 Secondary Sensory- interprets the sensations or the inputs that were
detected in the primary sensory area. Will analyze the meanings of
the specific sensory signals.
- Will interpret/analyze the sensory input of primary.
Ex: interpretation of the shape, texture, color, light, intensity, direction
of lines and angles and other aspects of vision, etc.
ASSOCIATION AREAS – large areas of Cerebral Cortex that do not fit the rigid
categories of the PRIMARY & SECONDARY motor and sensory areas.
• These areas receive and analyze simultaneously from multiple regions of both
motor and sensory cortices as well as subcortical structures.
This includes:
- Pareito-occipitotemporal Association Area
- Prefrontal Association Area
- Limbic Association Area
PARIETO-OCCIPITOTEMPORAL ASSOCIATION AREA
 Spatial coordinates of the body and surroundings- Provides continuous
analysis of the Spatial coordinates of all parts of the body and surroundings.
- They receive visual sensory information from the POSTERIOR OCCIPITAL
and simultaneous sensory information from the ANTERIOR PARIETAL.
- I t will compute the coordinates or where your body is, where your limbs
coordination of your body is, and coordinates of the visual auditory body
surroundings.
 Wernicke’s Area – major area for language comprehension
- One of the most important regions of the brain for higher intellectual
functions. Information/knowledge is based on LANGUAGE.
 - -it is a pair of Broca's area since it allows the formation
Of words/ speech
- If damaged, patient’s unable to understand language but can form
words(communicate).
Broca's Area - responsible for word formation (not part of parieto-
occipitotemporal). If damaged, patient can still understand the words but
cannot formulate words.
 Angular Gyrus – processing area for visual language. Near the area of vision.
- Responsible for understanding WRITTEN WORDS.
- If damaged, can still have excellent language comprehension through
HEARING.
- AGRAPHIA – (condition) Could also cause inability to write
- ALEXIA – (condition) cause inability to read aka- word blindness.
- DYSLEXIA- (condition) difficulty to read
 Area for Naming Objects – names are learned mainly through HEARING
(Auditory Input)
- Majority of language is first learned through HEARING.
- AGNOSIA – inability to name objects/ unable to identify objects.
PREFRONTAL ASSOCIATION AREA
Primary Function: in close association with motor cortex to plan patterns of
sequences of motor movements.
Location: Frontal Lobe (it is in association with motor cortex)
o Essential for carrying THOUGHT PROCESSES
o Described as elaboration of thought
o It is said to store details on a short-term basis known as WORKING
MEMORIES used to combine new thoughts entering the brain.
o Memory kept in the foreground of thought is the working memory (only
lasts a few minutes).
 Broca’s Area- plans and motor patterns for expression of words or even
short phrases initiated.
- when a person learns one language and then new language, that new
language is stored in a slightly removed area or slightly different from the
 original language. However, if a language is learned together it stored in the
same area.
LIMBIC ASSOCIATION AREA
Location: found in anterior pole of the TEMPORAL LOBE
Function: concern primarily with the behavior, emotions and motivations.
o Provides most emotional drives activating other areas of the brain and
even provide motivational drive for processing learning itself.
o Responsible for deciding whether a memory, is to be stored in short-
term or long-term memory or to be ignored
o Responsible for behavior, emotions and motivations.
AREA OF RECOGNITION OF FACES
 PROSOPAGNOSIA- brain abnormality that is the inability to recognize faces.
- Condition appears to people with extensive damage on the medial
underside of both occipital lobes.
- Majority of our tasks is associated with other people.
- One of the importance of intellectual functions is association with people.
- Continuous with the visual cortex
- TEMPORAL PORTION is associated with Limbic system.
SPECIFIC AREAS
1. Wernicke’s Area
A.K.A
- General interpretative area
- Gnostic Area
- Knowing area
- Tertiary association area
 Visual somatic and auditory association areas meet in the POSTERIOR PART
of the SUPERIOR TEMPORAL LOBE where the temporal parietal occipital
lobes come together.
  Somatic interpretative, visual interpretative, and auditory interpretative
areas connect in the Wernicke’s Area.
 Dominant side of the brain is the LEFT that is why majority of the people
are right-handed. It is Because of the crossing of fibers in the medulla
longata.
 Primarily responsible for COMPREHENSION.
 RECEPTIVE/ WERNICKE’S APHASIA- condition where you cannot recognize
THOUGHT.
 Broca’s Area Aphasia- EXPRESSIVE/BROCA’S APHASIA (unable to express
yourself.

2. ANGULAR GYRUS
 Responsible for the interpretation of visual information
 If damaged, but Wernicke’s is still intact, the person can interpret auditory
or spoken language but visual experiences is blocked. No visual input can go
in the Wernicke’s Area. Can see but no understanding of what is seen.
 Problem with written Language if damaged.
THE DOMINANT HEMISPHERE CONCEPT
 Left side is dominant because at BIRTH the left is LARGER than the right.
 At birth if the left side is damaged the RIGHT side will contain dominant
characteristics.
 “USE IT OR LOSE IT PRINCIPLE” – using left side much rather than the right
side, the left develops faster. (One of the theories supporting the
dominance of brain hemisphere)
 Ambidexter people- usage of right and left hands
 Dominant side of Angular Gyrus will receive signals from both hemispheres
 CORPUS CALLOSUM – the bridge of the brain hemispheres that has nerve
fibers that is bidirectional and allow transfer of information to the left and
to the right allowing brain to communicate with each other.
ROLE OF LANGUAGE
 Majority in everything we learn in life is through language.
 What we learn is LANGUAGE BASED
  Memory is stored as words (language).
 SSensoryareaa of the DOMINANT HEMISPHERE for interpretation of
language is the Wernicke’s Area
 Wernicke’s Area is closely associated by primary and secondary hearing of
the temporal lobe.
PARIETO-OCCIPITOTEMPORAL CORTEX IN THE NONDOMINANT HEMISPHERE
DOMINANT- language based
NONDOMINANT- body language, music, vocal intonation, etc.
- Not language based
o Damage to 1 Wernicke’s Area is not a damage to other area
o Right Minded – Creative ; Left minded- Academic
o Working together of right and left hemispheres is SARCASM. In sarcasm,
dominant side understands the words however the nondominant
recognizes the intonation and the dominant will interpret the words as
negative.
HIGHER INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS
1. PREFRONTAL LOBOTOMY -responsible for executive functions
• damage can cause difficulty in intelligence test or function effectively in
daily normal life.
damage to this area can cause:
Unable to:
1. Solve complex problems
2. String sequential tasks
3. Learn parallel tasks
4. Carry trains of thought
5. Decreased aggressiveness
6. Inappropriate social responses
7. Labile mood
8. Unpurposeful motor functions
DECREASED AGGRESSIVENESS AND INAPPROPRIATE SOCIAL RESPONSES
  loss of part of the LIMBIC ASSOCIATION CORTEX
 Loss of morals, inhibitions, social acts/problems
INABILITY TO PROGRESS TOWARD GOALS OR TO CARRY THROUGH SEQUENTIAL
THOUGHTS
 PREFRONTAL ASSOCIATION AREAS- Has the ability to call information from
a widespread area of the brain. (Working Memory)
 Little effort in logical sequence of thought (people perform this due to
absence of PREFRONTAL Association Area)
 Easily distracted from train of thoughts
WORKING MEMORY – the ability to keep track of the information simultaneously
to cause recall of this information instantaneously as it is needed for sequent
thoughts.
PREFRONTAL Association Area- elaboration of thought
o If train of thought is forgotten because patient is distracted, memory
storage CANNOT TAKE PLACE.
o By combining all of the temporary bits of Working Memory we can achieve:
1. Prognosticate – to prognose
2. Planning – remember schedule
3. Delay to weigh in new information-
4. Consider consequences – higher function
5. Solving
6. Correlation
7. Inhibition
TRANSFER OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THE HEMISPHERES
o CORPUS CALLOSUM & ANTERIOR COMMISSURE – transfer thoughts,
memories, training, & other information between the 2 cerebral
hemispheres.
Ways to transfer information:
1. ANTERIOR COMMISSURE- Amygdala and anterior temporal lobes.
2. CORPUS CALLOSUM – the rest of the hemisphere
 - fibers here provide abundant bidirectional neural connections between most
of the cortical areas of the 2 hemispheres with the EXCEPTION of the
AMYGDALA & ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBES
SEVERED CORPUS CALLOSUM
 Wernicke’s Area of dominant cannot control motor functions
 Visual and somatic information from the right cannot be interpreted in the
left.
 Two separate conscious portions of the brain
- What is stored in one side cannot be relayed to the other side.
- Able to react with emotion to something but unable to explain why
THOUGHTS, CONCIOUSNESS, & MEMORY
Memory
o Memory Traces – facilitated pathway of the neuron
□ once the trace is established, they can selectively activated by thinking to
reproduce the memory.
□ rethink! Rethink! Rethink!
Positive & Negative Memory
o HABITUATION – negative memory; there is inhibition of synaptic pathway
- Making the neuron HABITUATED
o SENSITIZATION – positive memory; it is enhanced, results into facilitation of
synaptic pathway.
- making the neuron more SENSITIVE/SENSITIZED
*Majority of memory is NEGATIVE. Not bad but negative as it is ignored.
*Memories that cause pain, pleasure and importance brain has the capability to
enhance and store the memory trace.
BRAIN – the one that decides to store or suppress the thought/memory

CLASIFICATION OF MEMORIES
 1. Short-term- Lasts for seconds at most minutes and can be converted into
longer term memories.
- working memory (used in the course of intellectual reasoning)
2. Intermediate long-term – lasts for days or weeks but most eventually they
will fade away.
3. Long-term – the ones stored and can be recalled for years or even a lifetime
later.
MEMORIES ACCORDING TO TYPE OF INFORMATION
o Declarative Memory
□ various details of integrated sources of memory such as important
experiences that includes surroundings, time, cause, meaning, deductions
that were left in the person’s mind.
□ Majority of the memory
o Skill Memory
□ associated with motor activities of the person’s body such as skills
□ sometimes called MOTOR MEMORY different but similar
□ muscle memory
□ skill related
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
 RESULT from continual neural activity
 A phone #
INTERMEDIATE LONG-TERM MEMORY
 Lasts from Minutes to weeks
 Eventually lost unless the memory traces will be activated in order for it to
become a permanent or long-term memory.
 RESULT from temporary chemical or physical changes or both in a synapse
LONG-TERM MEMORY
 Has no obvious demarcation against intermediate long-term memory
 RESULT of actual structural changes in the synapse
 These changes would enhance or suppress the signal induction
 Important Structural changes in the synapse are:
 • increase in vesicle release sites
• increase in # of transmitter vesicles released
• increase in the # of presynaptic terminals
• changes in structures of the dendritic spine that permit transmission of
stronger signals.
CONSOLIDATION OF MEMORY- making short term to long term memory
 Repetition – for a memory to become long-term, it must be CONSOLIDATED
 Will require 5-10 mins of minimal consolidation, and 1hr or more of strong
consolidation.
 Accelerate and enhance consolidation
ROLE OF HIPPOCAMPU AND OTHER BRAIN REGIONS IN MEMORY
o HIPPOCAMPUS- is the most medial portion of the temporal lobe cortex
o Lesions or damage does NOT seriously affect memory information that has
been stored before the hippocampus is destroyed.
o After removal of hippocampus, people will not be able to store any verbal
symbolic types of memory in long-term memory or even in intermediate
long-term memory lasting a few minutes.
o ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA - Patient will not create new long-term memories
after the damage to the hippocampus. (ANTERO – FORWARD)
o HIPPOCAMPUS – is one of the pathways for your REWARD & PUNISHMENT
areas of the limbic system.
- Main function: The one who tells the brain if memory should be restored or
ignored.
- Anything that elicit pain or pleasure will be stored in the memory. Anything
does not elicit pain or pleasure, will be habituated/ignored.
- The reason why we have discipline
RETROGRADE AMNESIA
- Most commonly seen in dramas
- A person is unable to remember the past
- It prevents you from accessing information that has been stored but does
not prevent you to store new memories.
  Thalamic – damage in this site will likely cause SPECIFICALLY retrograde
amnesia without causing anterograde amnesia
 Thalamus- help a person in the search of the memory storehouses and
read out the memories.
 Hippocampal Lesions- could cause part antero/retrograde
Cortex- data banks where you store your information.