Cerebrum

Synonyms in the broadest sense

Telencephalon, cerebrum, endbrain.

Introduction

The cerebrum with its enormous mass grows in humans the diencephalon, parts of the brain stem and cerebellum. As a total product, amazing abilities such as logical thinking, the own consciousness, emotions, memory and various learning processes develop. Also of highly practical importance are precise movements of the body (motor skills) and the associated recognition of one’s own body (sensitivity) in a constantly changing environment, which is captured by sensory impressions. This enormous development of an organ distinguishes us from most lower animals, and this is what makes the process of becoming human take place. From the perspective of comparative anatomy between living beings, our cerebrum is an amazing rarity and undoubtedly the reason for the millennia-long survival of our species!

Anatomy

If you look at the entire brain from the side (laterally), you immediately notice the powerfully developed cerebrum. Each of the brain hemispheres (hemispheres, separated by the interhemispheric gap) contains 4 large lobes, namely the frontal lobe (frontal lobe, frontal lobe), the parietal lobe (parietal lobe, parietal lobe), the occipital lobe (occiptital lobe, occipital lobe) and the temporal lobe (temporal lobe, temporal lobe). Specifically, one looks at the cortex (see CNS) of the cerebrum, which in humans has a few turns (gyri, singular gyrus) per lobe, separated by furrows (sulci, singular sulcus). The coils are reminiscent of thinned rods of plasticine, which, when rolled up, are located on the surface and thus enlarge them. Frontal lobe = red (frontal lobe, frontal lobe) Parietal lobe = blue (parietal lobe, parietal lobe) Occipital lobe = green (occiptital lobe, occipital lobe) Temporal lobe = yellow (temporal lobe, temporal lobe).

Prefrontal Cortex

The coils of those parts of the frontal lobe that lie far forward are grouped together to form the prefrontal cortex. At these points, active thought processes take place, for example, by means of a tricky math task: Contents of the short-term memory are examined before the mental eye. The information flashes in the interaction of several nerve cells (neurons), which form neuron loops like in a traffic circle on the street, criss-crossing the cortex (cerebral cortex)!

The mental content is encoded in the form of electrical excitation of the neurons. In addition to this, the prefrontal cortex plays a role as a component of the limbic system (see below, but its assignment is controversial), and it also contains the incorporated (internalized) values and social norms of its own society. Finally, those parts of the prefrontal cortex that are located directly above the orbit (orbita) are required as a high ranking member of the reward system.