The phylogenetically oldest part of the cortical mantle of the cerebral hemisphere, represented by the olfactory cortex.
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pa·leo·cor·tex or Brit pal·aeo·cor·tex -'kȯr-.teks n, pl -cor·ti·ces -'kȯrt-ə-.sēz or -cor·tex·es the part of the cerebral cortex that is evolutionarily older than the neocortex and that is composed esp. of the olfactory cortex
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pa·leo·cor·tex (pa″le-o-korґteks) [paleo- + cortex] [TA] the portion of the cerebral cortex that, with the archicortex, develops in association with the olfactory system, and which is phylogenetically older and less stratified than the neocortex. It is composed chiefly of the piriform cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus. Spelled also palaeocortex.Medical dictionary. 2011.