The Ego Trick (baggini, Julian) / quote 11 of 254
The neocortex is not a neural lasagne
The newest and most advanced parts of our brains are a mere 24–55 million years old, born during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. This is the neomammalian brain, otherwise known as the neocortex or cerebral cortex. Higher brain functions like logical reasoning and episodic memory depend on it. Only mammals have a neocortex, and it is most developed in primates, especially humans. Of course, this is just a model, and it should not be thought that the neocortex and limbic system are layered on top of the reptilian brain like some kind of neural lasagne. In reality, the systems evolved gradually and are deeply interconnected.