Allocortex

The allocortex (also known as heterogenetic cortex) is a part of the cerebral cortex characterized by fewer cell layers than the neocortex (i.e. fewer than six).

The specific regions of the brain normally described as part of the allocortex are:

• the olfactory cortex, which mediates olfaction
• the hippocampus, which mediates limbic input

Allocortex is heterogenetic cortex, because during development it never has the six-layered architecture of homogenetic neocortex. It differs from heterotypic cortex, a type of neocortex, which during prenatal development, passes through a six-layered stage to have less layers (e.g., agranular area 4 of Brodmann) or more layers (e.g., striate area 17 of Brodmann) in the mature brain ^[1].

See also

• Cerebral cortex
• Neocortex
• Paleocortex
• Archicortex

References

• "Allocortex." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000). ISBN 0-683-40007-X
• Haines, Duane E. Fundamental Neuroscience, 2nd. (2002). ISBN 0-443-06603-5

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