neocortex

noun

neo·cor·tex ˌnē-ō-ˈkȯr-ˌteks

: the large 6-layered dorsal region of the cerebral cortex that is unique to mammals

broadly : the mammalian cerebral cortex

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web How often a primate species lies is correlated with the size of its neocortex, the part of the brain where higher order functions like spatial reasoning occur. —

Paul Tullis, Town & Country, 30 Apr. 2023 In July, a collaboration of neuroscientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Research, Princeton University and Baylor College of Medicine released a data set containing the fine structures and connectivity of 200,000 brain cells in the mouse visual neocortex. —

Quanta Magazine, 6 Dec. 2021 The neocortex is also essential to learning, attention, and sight in humans. —

Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 15 Mar. 2023 In addition, Silver says, the study demonstrated that a predominant effect of the gene, in addition to increasing the size and number of folds in the neocortex, is controlling the production of certain neurons that develop later and are more important for higher-order processing. —

Courtney Sexton, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2020 The neocortex might play a key role in more complex recognition exercises where the face is turned or the lighting is altered. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2016 This hinted that the neocortex and DVR evolved independently. —

Quanta Magazine, 14 Feb. 2023 Why neurons have thousands of synapses, a theory of sequence memory in neocortex. —

Ted Ladd, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022 Some longer-term memories are stored outside the hippocampus, in the neocortex. —

Carina Woudenberg, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'neocortex.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Neocortex, from neo- neo- + Cortex cortex; from its being the cortex of the phylogenetically most recently developed part of the brain

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of neocortex was in 1909

See more words from the same year