Piriform cortex

Piriform cortex
Piriform cortex from a 14-day-old D2-eGFP (green) mouse stained for enkephalin (red) and DAPI (blue) to show nuclei. Epifluorescence.
Human brainstem anterior (piriform cortex not labeled, but most of it is visible near #7)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	cortex piriformis
NeuroLex ID	Primary Olfactory Cortex
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The piriform cortex, or pyriform cortex, is a region in the brain, part of the rhinencephalon situated in the cerebrum. The function of the piriform cortex relates to the sense of smell.

The piriform cortex is part of the rhinencephalon situated in the cerebrum.

In human anatomy, the piriform cortex has been described as consisting of the cortical amygdala, uncus, and anterior parahippocampal gyrus. More specifically, the human piriform cortex is located between the insula and the temporal lobe, anteriorly and laterally of the amygdala.

The function of the piriform cortex relates to olfaction, which is the perception of smell. This has been particularly shown in humans for the posterior piriform cortex.

Sometimes called the olfactory cortex, olfactory lobe or paleopallium, piriform cortical regions are present in the brains of amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

The piriform cortex is among three areas that emerge in the telencephalon of amphibians, situated caudally to a dorsal area, which is caudal to a hippocampal area. Farther along the phylogenic timeline, the telencephalic bulb of reptiles as viewed in a cross section of the transverse plane extends with the archipallial hippocampus folding toward the midline and down as the dorsal area begins to form a recognizable cortex.

As mammalian cerebrums developed, volume of the dorsal cortex increased in slightly greater proportion, as compared proportionally with increased overall brain volume, until it enveloped the hippocampal regions. Recognized as neopallium or neocortex, enlarged dorsal areas envelop the paleopallial piriform cortex in humans and Old World monkeys.