Thoughts, attitudes, words themselves, learning, skills, consciousness, intelligence, creativity come from this part of the brain, which is the most sophisticated part of the brain. If the cortex is damaged, these functions suffer accordingly.
Although all mammals have a cerebral cortex, or ‘outer crust’ to their brain, it is primates and particularly humans who have developed this most. Having said, dolphins, whales and other sea mammals do have large cortices.
The Cortex is not a single homogenous structure, different parts are specialised for different functions. It receives its blood supply from three arteries – which once translated from the latin, are called the front, middle and back brain arteries.
Each artery takes blood to a specific part of the brain and very loosely, the front artery – anterior cerebral artery, supplies the part of the brain that is important in thinking and decision making. The middle artery – middle cerebral artery, supplies that part of the brain that is important for movement, sensing, and understanding. The classic stroke damages this part of the brain and leaves some unable to move one or other side of their body. The back artery – posterior cerebral artery, supplies the hind of the brain which processes vision and makes sense of the images that come through the eyes. And this is not as easy as it sounds. The most sophisticated robots struggle to make sense of objects in three dimensional space, something which even a small child does naturally.
For further information and to learn more about MoodMapping, you can buy the book MoodMapping by Dr Liz Miller, on Amazon
and watch the YouTube video