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association cortex

{{Short description|Part of the cerebral cortex}}

The association cortex is a part of the cerebral cortex that performs complex cognitive functions.{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=R. A. |title=Chapter 1 - The structure of the human brain as revealed in six histological sections |journal=Diagnosis, Management and Modeling of Neurodevelopmental Disorders |date=1 January 2021 |pages=3–11 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128179888000014 |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-817988-8.00001-4 |isbn=978-0-12-817988-8 |s2cid=236679910 |language=en|url-access=subscription }}{{cite book|last1=Betts|first1=J Gordon|last2=Desaix|first2=Peter|last3=Johnson|first3=Eddie|last4=Johnson|first4=Jody E|last5=Korol|first5=Oksana|last6=Kruse|first6=Dean|last7=Poe|first7=Brandon|last8=Wise|first8=James|last9=Womble|first9=Mark D|last10=Young|first10=Kelly A|title=Anatomy & Physiology|location=Houston|publisher=OpenStax CNX|url=https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/16-2-the-mental-status-exam|isbn=978-1-947172-04-3|date=May 14, 2023|at=16.2 The mental status exam}} Unlike primary sensory or motor areas, which process specific sensory inputs or motor outputs, the association cortex integrates information from various sources to support higher-order cognitive processes. This integration allows for complex functions such as perception, language, and thought. Therefore, species that possess large amounts of association cortex tend to show advanced reasoning skills.{{cite journal |last1=Krawczyk |first1=Daniel C. |title=Chapter 3 - The Neuroscience of Reasoning |journal=Reasoning |date=1 January 2018 |pages=41–69 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B978012809285900003X |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-809285-9.00003-X |isbn=978-0-12-809285-9 |language=en|url-access=subscription }}

The association cortex is generally divided into unimodal and heteromodal (or polymodal) areas, which process either a single sensory modality or multiple modalities, respectively.

Types

  • Unimodal association cortex: This area receives input from a single sensory modality. The output from the unimodal cortex is largely to unimodal areas. For example, the visual association cortex in the occipital lobe processes visual information, and the auditory association cortex in the temporal lobe processes auditory information.{{cite book |last1=Mendoza |first1=John E. |title=Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology |date=2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-387-79948-3 |page=2578 |url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_810 |access-date=5 June 2023 |language=en |chapter=Unimodal Cortex|doi=10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_810 }}
  • Heteromodal (polymodal) association cortex: This area integrates information from multiple sensory modalities. It plays a critical role in higher cognitive functions, including attention, memory, language, and conscious thought. Heteromodal association cortex is hypothesised to be selectively involved in the neuropathology of schizophrenia.{{cite journal |last1=Buchanan |first1=Robert W. |last2=Francis |first2=Alan |last3=Arango |first3=Celso |last4=Miller |first4=Karl |last5=Lefkowitz |first5=David M. |last6=McMahon |first6=Robert P. |last7=Barta |first7=Patrick E. |last8=Pearlson |first8=Godfrey D. |title=Morphometric Assessment of the Heteromodal Association Cortex in Schizophrenia |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |date=February 2004 |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=322–331 |doi=10.1176/appi.ajp.161.2.322 |pmid=14754782 |url=https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.2.322 |access-date=5 June 2023 |language=en |issn=0002-953X|url-access=subscription }}

Examples in humans

  • Anterior association area: Located in the prefrontal cortex. This area is important in memory and planning.
  • Posterior association area: Located in the posterior parietal lobe.{{Cite journal |last=Whitlock |first=Jonathan R. |date=2017-07-24 |title=Posterior parietal cortex |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28743011/ |journal=Current Biology |volume=27 |issue=14 |pages=R691–R695 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.007 |issn=1879-0445 |pmid=28743011|bibcode=2017CBio...27.R691W |hdl=11250/2465681 |hdl-access=free }} This area plays an important role in perception and language. Damage to this area can result in agnosia.
  • Limbic association area: Located in the anterior-ventral portion of the temporal lobe, this area links emotion with sensory inputs.{{cite web |title=Higher Cortical Functions: Association and Executive Processing (Section 4, Chapter 9) Neuroscience Online: An Electronic Textbook for the Neurosciences {{!}} Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy - The University of Texas Medical School at Houston |url=https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/s4/chapter09.html |website=nba.uth.tmc.edu |access-date=5 June 2023}}

References

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Category:Brain anatomy