what is cortex

The cortex is the outermost layer of an organ or structure. In the context of the brain, the cerebral cortex is the outermost layer responsible for higher-level processes such as memory, thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, language, and decision-making. The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital, each responsible for processing different types of information. The cortex is composed of six layers of nerve cells that contain between 14 billion and 16 billion nerve cells. The folds of the cortex consist of many deep grooves called sulci and raised areas called gyri, which add to the surface area of the cortex, allowing large amounts of information to be processed by more nerve cells. The cortex is also present in other organs such as the kidneys, adrenal glands, ovaries, and thymus.