neocortex
Brain's outer shell
The neocortex is the outer layer of the cerebral cortex in mammals, responsible for higher functions like sensory perception, reasoning, language, and conscious thought.
It's the evolutionarily newest part of the brain, distinguished by its six-layered structure.
The neocortex is what makes human cognition possible.
The term appears often in discussions of intelligence and brain evolution.
Before the frontal lobe
- frontal lobeBrain's decision-making center
- parietal lobeCortical region for sensation
- temporal lobeBrain section for hearing
- occipital lobePosterior brain vision area
gyri · sulci · hemispheres · grey matter · white matter · neurons · synapses · layers
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
- memoryMind's retention capacity
perception · awareness · language · abstraction · comprehension · attention · recognition · problem-solving
Brain's self-rewiring ability
- neuroimagingVisualizing nervous system structure
- fMRIMagnetic neural activity imaging
- EEGNeural activity recording
- neurotransmittersChemical neural messengers
dendrites · axons · myelination · neural networks · brainwaves · neurology · connectivity · mapping
Hair-bearing, milk-producing animals
- primatesOrder of higher mammals
- hominidBipedal primate family
- expansionIncrease in scope
- Homo sapiensScientific name for humans
brain size · adaptation · anthropology · phylogeny · divergence · cetaceans · corvids · selection pressure
prefrontal
Before the frontal lobe
- frontal lobeBrain's decision-making center
- parietal lobeCortical region for sensation
- temporal lobeBrain section for hearing
occipital lobe · gyri · sulci · hemispheres · grey matter · white matter · neurons · synapses · layers · columns
intelligence
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
memory · perception · awareness · language · abstraction · comprehension · attention · recognition · problem-solving · decision-making
neuroplasticity
Brain's self-rewiring ability
- neuroimagingVisualizing nervous system structure
- fMRIMagnetic neural activity imaging
- EEGNeural activity recording
neurotransmitters · dendrites · axons · myelination · neural networks · brainwaves · neurology · connectivity · mapping · electrophysiology
mammals
Hair-bearing, milk-producing animals
Homo sapiens · brain size · adaptation · anthropology · phylogeny · divergence · cetaceans · corvids · selection pressure · complexity
- cerveauneurone, hypothalamus, thalamus, synapse, meninges
- neuroanatomybrain, cerebellum, thalamus, hypothalamus, brainstem
- brain partscerebellum, hippocampus, brainstem, thalamus, hypothalamus
- brain regionsfrontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, hippocampus
- cerebrumfrontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, hemisphere
- neo- wordsneoclassical, neolithic, neologism, neophyte, neoplasm
neocortexbrainstem
Lower neural trunk
reptilian brain · hindbrain · lizard brain · medulla oblongata · amygdala
cerebral, cortex, neo, cerebrum, cortical, cerebral cortex, corticoid