cerebral cortex

noun

: the convoluted surface layer of gray matter of the cerebrum that functions chiefly in coordination of sensory and motor information compare neocortex

Examples of cerebral cortex in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When scientists removed rats’ cerebral cortex, the brain area that governs higher cognition, the animals still engaged in mock fighting—a behavior known to be associated with play in rodents. —Timmy Broderick, Scientific American, 28 July 2023

So researchers at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin set out on a hunt underneath the cerebral cortex to find a control center for play in a new study published on Friday in Neuron. —Timmy Broderick, Scientific American, 28 July 2023

In March 2022, a surgeon inserted four of these tiny sensors into Bennett’s cerebral cortex—the outermost layer of the brain. —Emily Mullin, WIRED, 24 Aug. 2023

Folds in the cerebral cortex introduce a third dimension there too. —R. Douglas Fields, Quanta Magazine, 19 Apr. 2023

These associations become impossible to forget, embedded deep in our cerebral cortex, shaping assumptions and opinions. —Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 14 June 2023

What sticks in my cerebral cortex isn’t a sensation of pain, or any regrets at the end of life, but the sickening sense that the animal at the other end of those gangrenous teeth has no soul. —Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 22 June 2023

My trusty reporter’s notebook was back home, and my cerebral cortex was switched to airplane mode. —Christopher Muther, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Apr. 2023

This happens mainly in the areas that control cognition and self-awareness (cerebral cortex) and sensory information (visual cortex). —Kelly Santana Banks, Discover Magazine, 3 Mar. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

cerebral cortex

noun

: the convoluted surface layer of gray matter of the cerebrum that functions chiefly in coordination of sensory and motor information

called also pallium

see neocortex