Posterior cortex usually means the posterior (back) part of the complete
cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. It is the largest site of Neuron, neural integration in the central nervous system, and plays ...
and includes the
occipital,
parietal, and
temporal cortices. In other words, the posterior cortex includes all the cerebral cortex without the
frontal cortex.
In combination with specific cortical areas, 'posterior cortex' usually refers to the posterior (back) part of that cortical area. For example: the
posterior parietal cortex is the posterior part of the parietal cortex and the
posterior cingulate cortex
The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is the caudal part of the cingulate cortex, located posterior to the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the upper part of the " limbic lobe". The cingulate cortex is made up of an area around the midline of ...
is the posterior part of the cingulate cortex.
Function of the posterior cortex
The posterior cortex is the “sensory” cortex, much as the
frontal cortex
The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a groove betw ...
is the “action” cortex. The posterior cortex is responsible for encoding the sensory content (
visual
The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to detect and process light). The system detects, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an image and buil ...
,
auditory, and
tactile) of any experience (both real and imaginary experience). The posterior cortex with the exception of the primary sensory areas (
Primary visual cortex (V1),
primary auditory cortex
The auditory cortex is the part of the temporal lobe that processes auditory information in humans and many other vertebrates. It is a part of the auditory system, performing basic and higher functions in hearing, such as possible relations to ...
, and
somatosensory cortex
The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bod ...
) was called by
Christof Koch and colleagues the
posterior cortical hot zone for its close association with the minimal neural substrate essential for conscious perception.
[{{cite journal , last1=Koch , first1=Christof , last2=Massimini , first2=Marcello , last3=Boly , first3=Melanie , last4=Tononi , first4=Giulio , title=Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems , journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience , date=1 May 2016 , volume=17 , issue=5 , pages=307–321 , doi=10.1038/nrn.2016.22, pmid=27094080 , s2cid=5395332 , url=https://zenodo.org/record/439357 ]
References
Medical terminology