Functional Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

The left hemisphere, area by area: 11 regions and grooves to name.

Functional Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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Write the name of each numbered area.Answer key

  1. Prefrontal cortex
  2. Frontal eye field
  3. Premotor area
  4. Primary motor cortex
  5. Primary somatosensory cortex
  6. Central sulcus
  7. Broca's area
  8. Lateral sulcus
  9. Primary auditory cortex
  10. Wernicke's area
  11. Primary visual cortex

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-04 by script. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a area is answered.

Next step Back a step: the lobes and deep parts

All 11 areas on the diagram

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Start here: 8 main areas 8

  1. Prefrontal cortex The front of the frontal lobe. It serves the thinking that underlies personality, short-term memory and consciousness.
  2. Premotor area The area in front of the primary motor cortex. It is involved in planning a movement before it is made.
  3. Primary motor cortex The precentral gyrus. Its neurons send the commands that move skeletal muscles.
  4. Primary somatosensory cortex Where touch, pressure, pain, itch, vibration and body position are felt. It is the postcentral gyrus.
  5. Broca's area Controls the movements that produce speech. In most people it is only on the left side.
  6. Primary auditory cortex In the top of the temporal lobe, where sound is first processed.
  7. Wernicke's area Plays a major role in understanding spoken and written language. Traditionally placed in the back of the superior temporal gyrus of the left hemisphere.
  8. Primary visual cortex In the occipital lobe at the back, where vision is first processed.

Frontal lobe: 5 1

  1. Frontal eye field A small area of the frontal lobe that moves the eyes. It directs attention to what you see.

Central strip: 2 1

  1. Central sulcus The groove between the frontal and parietal lobes. It runs between the motor and sensory strips.

Temporal lobe: 3 1

  1. Lateral sulcus The deep groove separating the temporal lobe from frontal and parietal lobes.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 13.2 The Central Nervous System, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/13-2-the-central-nervous-system : the precentral gyrus as the primary motor cortex; the premotor area for thinking of a movement to be made; the frontal eye fields for eye movements and attending to visual stimuli; Broca's area for producing language, usually only on the left; the prefrontal lobe for cognitive functions underlying personality, short-term memory and consciousness; the postcentral gyrus as the primary somatosensory cortex (touch, pressure, tickle, pain, itch, vibration, body position); areas 17 and 18 of the occipital lobe for primary vision; areas 41 and 42 in the superior temporal lobe for primary auditory sensation; the central and lateral sulci. Wikipedia, Wernicke's area, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%27s_area : one of the two main language regions with Broca's area, important for understanding spoken and written language, traditionally in area 22 of the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant, usually left, hemisphere. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-04 by script. The outline of the hemisphere and its sulci follow Gray's Anatomy (20th edition, 1918) fig. 726, Lateral surface of left cerebral hemisphere, viewed from the side, drawn by H. V. Carter, public domain, from Wikimedia Commons (Gray726.png). The motor, body-sensation, hearing and vision areas are placed after fig. 756 of the same book, Areas of localization on lateral surface of hemisphere, public domain (Gray756.png); Broca's area, Wernicke's area, the frontal eye field and the premotor and prefrontal areas are placed on the gyri the page's text names for them. The cerebellum and brainstem are drawn freehand, their form after fig. 728, public domain (Gray728.png). Licence: own work

How it works

The functional areas of the cerebral cortex on the left hemisphere, each shaded where it sits, with the two grooves that bound them. It covers the homework: correctly label the following functional regions of the cerebral cortex. Start with the 8 main areas.

Read the full guide

Around the central sulcus

The primary motor cortex lies just in front of the central sulcus and the primary somatosensory cortex just behind it. In front of the motor strip are the premotor area and the frontal eye field, and the prefrontal cortex fills the front.

Language, hearing, vision

Broca's area, low in the frontal lobe, produces speech; Wernicke's area, behind the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe, helps understand language. The primary visual cortex is at the back, in the occipital lobe.

  • Motor in front, sensory behind: the central sulcus runs between the two strips.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between Broca's area and Wernicke's area?

Broca's area, in the frontal lobe, controls the movements that produce speech. Wernicke's area, in the temporal lobe, plays a major role in understanding spoken and written language. Both are usually in the left hemisphere.

Where is the primary motor cortex?

On the precentral gyrus, just in front of the central sulcus. Its neurons send the commands that move skeletal muscles.

Where is the primary visual cortex?

In the occipital lobe at the back of the brain, where visual information is first processed.

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