Bradford, Chantai

THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

Pre-enrollment at Penn State World Campus, I became interested in the field of Psychology.  I always had a niche for listening to the problems of others as well offering sound advice.  Before the semester began I visited Barnes and Noble.  So I could have a secure understanding of what the wonderful world of Psychology was all about, I needed to get familiar with the subject of Psychology before the semester began.  Upon my visit, I purchased the book titled, Psychology for Dummies written by Adam Cash, PsyD.  I even purchased another book at a silent auction called, The Secret Life of the Brain, authored by Richard Rewstak, M.D.  However, as I began partaking in my psychology courses, I realized that psychology goes deeper than just a therapy session.  It entails various aspects such as: behaviorism, cognition, and even the human brain.

As I began reading my two written sources of information, I became fascinated with the human brain; particularly the cerebral cortex.  If you were to perform a lobotomy, you would see that the cerebral cortex, the surface, which includes the gray matter of the brain that plays a role in the humanlike functions from: seeing, hearing, writing, reading, doing arithmetic, communicating, and feeling compassion.  It is considered the most human part of the brain (McEwen & Schmeck, 1994)

The cerebral cortex is located in the forebrain; the executive part of the brain which allows the brain to have foresight to plan ahead and organize behavior to achieve a goal.  It sets us humans apart from any other creature.  Divided into two halves, fused by nerve fibers of the corpus callosum, allowing the two hemispheres to communicate for processing, is known as the cerebral lateralization.  Making up seven-tenths of the entire nervous system, the human cortex is 10 times larger than that of a macaque monkey and 1000 times that of a rat (Restak, 2001).  The cerebral cortex consists of four lobes which produce thoughts, governs language, and stores memories.

Each lobe is associated with our behavior.  The four major divisions of the cerebral cortex include: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe.  Every lobe is a specialist.  The frontal lobe is responsible for: planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling movements, reasoning, and overall monitoring of the thinking process (Cash, 2002).  The parietal lobes are for the analysis of sensation on the skin via temperature and pain.  The temporal lobe is used for: hearing, understanding speech, and verbal activity.  The occipital lobes are responsible for vision.  Although each lobe is specifically designed for different human functions, the entire brain operates as a whole, incorporating the task of each lobe.

We as humans have been endowed with five senses, taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight.  The cerebral cortex is the first to receive signals from each of these senses and controls our cognitive functions.  A subdivision of the forebrain, the cerebral cortex plays a major role in assisting us in our daily activities.