Cortexcentric

Cortexcentric is an adjective used in neuroscience and cognitive science to describe a perspective that centers the cerebral cortex in explanations of cognition, perception, and behavior. The term can also function as a noun to refer to such a perspective or program of research. It is often contrasted with approaches that give substantial weight to subcortical structures or to distributed, network-level explanations that do not privilege any single region.

Etymology: cortexcentric is formed from cortex, the outer layer of the brain, and the suffix -centric. It is a descriptive label rather than a formal theory, used to characterize viewpoints rather than to prescribe a single framework.

Applications and usage: In research, cortex-centric accounts emphasize cortical hierarchy, feature extraction, integration across cortical areas, and representational processing within cortical circuits. In artificial intelligence and cognitive science, cortex-centric designs attempt to model cognition by emulating cortical architectures such as layered processing and reentrant loops, while other scholars critique such models for underemphasizing subcortical contributions or embodied factors.

Criticism and alternatives: Critics argue that a cortex-centric view can be reductionist and neuroanatomically simplistic, neglecting subcortical circuits (such as the thalamus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum) and large-scale brain networks. Alternative perspectives include network-centric, thalamo-cortical, and embodied cognition approaches that stress distributed processing and interaction with the body and environment.

Current status: Cortex-centric remains a descriptive label used informally in literature and discourse rather than a standalone theory. It helps frame discussions about which brain components are emphasized in models while often being considered alongside broader neural systems.

See also: Cortex, Cerebral cortex, Neural networks, Embodied cognition, Thalamus, Basal ganglia.