| On the outside, the cerebral cortex looks like a pale greyish-pink wrinkly mass. On the inside, the cerebral cortex contains billions and billions of nerve cells. Supporting those billions and billions of nerve cells are even more glial cells. About nine times as many! These glial cells support, nourish, and protect the neurons in the surface layer of the brain. The cells are like “glue cells” that guide neural connections, supply nutrients, insulate myelin, and collect ions and neurotransmitters. Think of it this way: the neuron is like a queen bee in a hive. It can’t feed or protect itself without the help of a glial cell, which would be all the other bees in the hive.Because the cerebral cortex is so large, it has to be divided into four different lobes. The four lobes include: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the temporal lobe. Each lobe carries out its own separate function. The frontal lobe (located by your forehead – front, forehead) involves speaking and muscle movements as well as making plans and judgments. The parietal lobe lies just at the top of your head. It receives sensory input for touch and body position. The occipital lobe (at the back of your head) includes the visual areas which receives information from the opposite visual field (left corresponds to right and vice versa). Lastly, the temporal lobes are at the sides of your head just above your ears. This includes the auditory area which receives information from the opposite ear (right corresponds to left and vice versa) (Myers 75-76). |
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Julia, Dovgy, widener, medical scholar
