(Mather, 2006, pp. 55–62). Parts of the body that contain many sensory
neurons, such as the face and the hands, also cover a larger area on the
somatosensory cortex. The parietal lobe also plays an important role in
understanding spatial relationships (Ward, 2006, pp. 135–40). Given that
both information about the body and information about space converge in
this area of the brain, it is no wonder that especially the right superior and
inferior parietal cortex has been found to play crucial roles in body image
(Lieberman, 2007).
Thetemporal lobeis located below the parietal lobe, behind the temple. On
its outer surface on both sides wefind the primary and secondary auditory
cortices (Kalat, 2016, pp. 188–95). Wernicke’s area in the upper part of the left
temporal lobe is an important center for understanding spoken language, with
the participation of neighboring areas (Mildner, 2008, pp. 165–6; Kalat, 2016,
pp. 442–3). Damage to this area has been associated with Wernicke’s aphasia.
Patients with this cognitive disorder producefluent and grammatically correct
but nonsensical speech. Their language comprehension is seriously impaired.
Hearing and understanding spoken language are not the only activities to
which structures in the medial lobe contribute. The dorsal path of visual
processing leads through two areas of the temporal lobe that especially deal
with aspects of motion (Kalat, 2016, pp. 177–83). Further, the inner part of the
temporal lobe (medial temporal lobe) is close to the hippocampus and the
amygdala and participates in processes related to memory and emotion
(Squire et al., 2004).
Thefrontal lobeof the cerebral cortex contains areas that are responsible for
higher cognitive and executive functions. Parallel to the central sulcus wefind
the primary motor cortex (Ward, 2006, pp. 153–61), which contains a map of
the body that is somewhat similar yet not exactly analogous to the somato-
sensory cortex. In front of the lower end of the primary motor cortex, in the
left hemisphere, Broca’s area plays a key role in speech production (Mildner,
2008, pp. 164–5; Denes, 2011, pp. 22–3). Damage in this area has been
associated with Broca’s aphasia. In this condition, people have problems
(unlike Wernicke’s patients) with using syntax and formulating complex
sentences, but chose verbs and nouns properly and have no difficulties
with understanding. More recently, the involvement of neighboring brain
areas in speech production has been emphasized. The part of the brain that
is located behind the forehead is called thepre-frontalcortex. This part of the
brain has grown disproportionally larger in human evolutionary history and
contains various areas that support higher cognitive tasks (Ward, 2006,
pp. 283–307). For example, the temporary storage of information for manipu-
lation (known asworking memory) is supported by the lateral prefrontal
cortex, the ventral area probably taking part in the activation and maintenance
of information and the dorsal area contributing to its active manipulation
(while information itself is probably not stored in the prefrontal cortex).
The Human Brain: A Guided Tour 57