Lobes of the Cortex

Frontal Cortex

Prefrontal cortex: problem solving, decision making, and complex thoughts (origins of one’s personality)

Motor cortex: controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles

** the frontal lobes are in the top left of diagram below **

Parietal Lobes

Somatosensory cortex: registers and processes body sensations

Sensory association area: processes multi-sensory information

** the parietal lobes are in the top right of the diagram below **

Occipital Lobes

Visual cortex: receive visual information (light, color, movement) from the opposite visual field

Visual association area: complex processing of visual information

** the occipital lobes are in the bottom right of the diagram below **

Temporal Lobes

Auditory cortex: receives auditory information (pitch, tone, loudness)

Auditory association area: processes auditory information

** the temporal lobes are in the bottom left of the diagram below **