cerebral cortex

the layer of gray matter that covers the outside of the cerebral hemispheres in the brain and is associated with higher cognitive functions, such as language, learning, perception, and planning. It consists mostly of neocortex, which has six main layers of cells (see cortical layers); regions of cerebral cortex that do not have six layers are known as allocortex. Differences in the cytoarchitecture of the layers led to the recognition of distinct areas, called Brodmann’s areas, many of which are known to serve different functions.

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Psychology term of the day

November 16th 2024

internalization

1. the nonconscious mental process by which the characteristics, beliefs, feelings, or attitudes of other individuals or groups are assimilated into the self and adopted as one’s own.

2. in psychoanalytic theory, the process of incorporating an object relationship inside the psyche, which reproduces the external relationship as an intrapsychic phenomenon. For example, through internalization the relationship between father and child is reproduced in the relationship between superego and ego or, in relational theory, between self and other. Internalization is often mistakenly used as a synonym for introjection. —internalize vb.