FUNCTIONAL CORTICAL AREAS OF

BRAIN

MAHAM ASHRAF
2520
 CEREBRAL CORTEX:

Cerebrum which is the largest division of the brain. It is divided into 2 large hemisphere which is further
divided into 4 lobes:
1. FRONTAL LOBE.
2. PARIETAL LOBE.
3. TEMPORAL LOBE.
4. OCCIPITAL LOBE.
 FRONTAL LOBE:
It is the largest lobe, located in front of the cerebral hemispheres. It can be further divided into 5 areas.
1. PRE FRONTAL CORTEX:
It plays a crucial role in the processing of intellectual and emotional information, including aggression, and
facilitates judgement and decision-making.
2. MOTOR CORTEX:
The motor cortex corresponds to the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe. The precentral gyrus contains the
primary motor cortex (Brodmann area 4), which is responsible for integrating signals from different brain
regions to modulate motor function. The primary motor cortex is where the corticospinal tract originates.
•PREMOTOR AREA AND SUPPLEMEMENTARY MOTOR AREA:
•Anterior to the primary motor cortex of the precentral gyrus is the premotor area, or premotor cortex
(Brodmann area 6), and the supplemental motor cortex. Collectively, they function to assist in organizing
movements and actions.
3. FRONTAL EYE FIELD: Just rostral to the premotor region, is an area called the frontal eye fields
(Brodmann area 6,8,9), which is responsible for voluntary control of conjugate (horizontal) eye
movements.
4. BROCA’S AREA:
Broca’s speech area (Brodmann area 44 and 45). Broca’s area is responsible for producing the motor
component of speech, which includes verbal fluency, phonological processing, grammar processing and
attention during speech.
 PAREITAL LOBE
The parietal lobe is located just underneath the parietal bone, lying posterior to
the frontal lobe and anterior and superior to the temporal and occipital lobes.
1. PRIMARY SOMATOSENSORY AREA:
Primary somatosensory cortex (Brodmann areas 1,2 and 3). This region receives
sensory information from all sensory receptors that provide information related
to temperature, pain (spinothalamic pathway), vibration, proprioception and
fine touch (dorsal column pathway).
2. ASSOCIATIVE SOMATOSENSORY AREA:
The associative somatosensory area (Brodmann areas 5 & 7),
It helps process and interpret all the sensations received by the primary area
and helps discriminate between them.
 TEMPORAL LOBE

1. PRIMARY AUDITORY AREA:

The primary auditory area (Brodmann area 41,42), t is a specialized region of cortex
primarily responsible for the reception of auditory information.
2. SECONDARY AUDITORY AREA:
The secondary auditory area (Brodmann area 22),helps in Understanding the
meanings of sounds & spoken words.
3. WERNICKE’S AREA:
Wernicke's area is the region of the brain that is important for language
development.It is located in the temporal lobe on the left side of the brain and
is responsible for the comprehension of the speech.
 OCCIPITAL LOBE

The occipital lobe lies just underneath the occipital bone. It forms the most
posterior portion of the brain and is found behind both the parietal and temporal
lobes.
PRIMARY VISUAL AREA:
Primary visual cortex (Brodmann area 17) which is responsible for visual
perception.
ASSOCIATIVE VISUAL AREA:
The visual association cortex (Brodmann area 18 and 19) constitutes the
remaining regions of the occipital lobe. The functions is to relate to the visual
information received by the primary area to past visual experiences, thus
enabling the individual to recognize and appreciate what he or she is saying.
LESIONS OF THE FUNCTIONAL
AREAS:
FRONTAL CORTEX:
Broca's aphasia
Broca’s aphasia, otherwise known as motor aphasia, is associated with damage to Broca’s area in
the inferior frontal gyrus of the dominant cerebral hemisphere. It is called “motor” aphasia
because affected persons can comprehend language, but they have difficulty with language
output, or expression: they struggle with speech production, particularly word repetition and
object naming.
APRAXIA:
Is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out skilled
movements and gestures, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform them.
PAREITAL LOBE:
ASTEREOGNOSIS
A complete or partial disorder of tactile perception, in which a person is not able to identify an object
only by touch, without seeing it, is called astereognosis.

TEMPORAL LOBE:
Wernicke's aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia, also known as sensory aphasia, is associated with damage to Wernicke’s area in the
temporal lobe of the dominant cerebral hemisphere. It is called “sensory” aphasia because affected
persons cannot make sense of language input: they cannot comprehend spoken language, and cannot
repeat what is spoken to them. Although their speech remains fluent, it tends to be irrelevant and
nonsensical.
Acoustic agnosia:
Also known as word deafness. It is the inability to interpret sound.
OCCIPITAL LOBE:
Hemianopia:
Hemianopia, sometimes called hemianopia, is partial blindness or a loss of sight in half of
your visual field.
Crossed homonymous hemianopia:
Homonymous hemianopia is a condition in which a person sees only one side ― right or left ― of the
visual world of each eye. The condition results from a problem in brain function rather than a disorder
of the eyes themselves.
Cortical blindness:
Cortical blindness is the total or partial loss of vision in a normal-appearing eye caused by damage to
the brain's occipital cortex. Cortical blindness can be acquired or congenital, and may also be transient
in certain instances.