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1. Think
2. Emotions

What are Emotions?

What we feel shapes our emotional life – and helps us react correctly and quickly.

11.09.2025

1. Basics
2. Anatomy

The Pons

The name is not correct, but it is involved in motor function, taste, and important vegetative functions.

20.09.2025

1. News
2. Question to the brain

Why is it soothing to pet Animals?

Many people find petting an animal soothing. Is there a neurobiological explanation for this?

08.12.2024

1. Glossary

Association cortex

Parts of the cerebrum that are not assigned to the primary and secondary areas for sensory processing and motor function. They are mainly located in the neocortex, integrate information from multiple sources, are the center of thalamocortical and cortico-cortical networks, and cannot be clearly distinguished functionally.

1. Glossary

Praepiriform area

The praepiriform area is part of the piriform cortex in the ventral temporal lobe and belongs to the primary olfactory cortex, i.e., the primary olfactory cortex. Among other things, it contains inputs from the olfactory bulb (bulbus olfactorius) and is therefore involved in the initial cortical processing of olfactory stimuli.

1. Glossary

Posterior parietal cortex

The posterior parietal lobe receives inputs from numerous visual, auditory, somatosensory, and proprioceptive cortical areas. It integrates this information into an overall spatial picture that enables orientation, spatial attention, and the planning and execution of goal-directed movements.

1. News from the Institutes

Signals from the brain reveal what color a person is seeing

Success in predicting the color seen by an observer using the activity patterns measured in the visual cortex of other subjects

09.09.2025

1. News from the Institutes

Interaction between interneurons stabilizes gamma oscillations in a brain

PV+ cells act as the “conductors” of visually induced gamma oscillatory rhythm

26.05.2025

1. Glossary

Insula

The insula is a recessed part of the cortex (cerebral cortex) that is covered by the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. This overlay is called the opercula (lid). The insula influences the motor and sensory functions of the intestines and is considered to be the link between cognitive and emotional elements in pain processing. It is also involved in processes such as taste and physical self-awareness.

1. Glossary

Parahippocampal gyrus

The parahippocampal gyrus runs along the hippocampus in the lower, inner temporal lobe. Its anterior part is covered by the entorhinal cortex. It is connected to numerous areas of the cerebral cortex and projects to the hippocampus, which it also acts as a gateway to. This means that it is involved in the consolidation of explicit memory content, among other things. In addition, the posterior part of the parahippocampal gyrus contains the parahippocampal place area (PPA), which responds particularly to complex visual scenes such as rooms, landscapes, or streets and thus plays an important role in spatial orientation and location recognition.