cortical mapping

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the process of systematically identifying the functional roles of specific regions of the cerebral cortex by recording responses to stimuli, applying electrical stimulation to trigger or disrupt function, or analysing neural activity patterns during behavioural tasks; cortical mapping is performed both intraoperatively — during brain surgery, using direct cortical stimulation to identify eloquent cortex such as primary motor, language, and sensory areas that must be preserved — and non-invasively through functional neuroimaging, EEG, MEG, or TMS; the classic result of cortical mapping is the sensorimotor homunculus — the somatotopic representation of the body across primary motor and somatosensory cortex — first described by Wilder Penfield through direct electrical stimulation during epilepsy surgery; cortical maps reveal the topographic organisation of sensory and motor representations, show individual variability in the location of language cortex, and change dynamically with experience and learning through cortical reorganisation; surgical cortical mapping is essential for planning tumour and epilepsy resections in or near functionally critical regions

Examples

• Cortical mapping during awake craniotomy identified Broca's area and allowed the surgeon to avoid it.
• High-density EEG cortical mapping revealed a shift in motor representation after stroke rehabilitation.