Corticography

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Recording of the brain's electrical activity made directly from the exposed surface of the cerebral cortex during surgery or monitoring
2. The technique of mapping electrical signals from the outer layer of the brain by placing electrodes directly on its surface
3. Direct electrical recording taken from the cortex of the brain, used to locate seizure foci or functional areas before an operation

Etymology: Corticography is a technical coinage from neuroscience, built from two parts. The first, "cortex," is the Latin word for bark or rind, borrowed into scientific use for the outer layer of the brain, the grey matter that covers the cerebrum. The second element, "-graphy," comes from Greek "graphia," meaning writing or recording, and appears in many modern names for imaging and recording techniques. Put together, the word names the act of recording electrical activity from the surface of the cortex. The term is a synonym of "electrocorticography," which adds "electro-" in front to show that the recording is electrical. The longer form therefore spells out the method in full, while the shorter form drops the electrical element and keeps the core idea of mapping the cortex's surface. Neither word is found in older dictionaries of everyday English, since both belong to the specialised vocabulary of brain research.

Synonyms: electrocorticography