The<unk>  <unk>  is the caudal part of the<unk>  cortex, located posterior to the anterior<unk>  cortex. This is the upper part of the "limbic lobe". The<unk>  cortex is made up of an area around the midline of the brain. Surrounding areas include the retrosplenial cortex and the precuneus. Cytoarchitectonically the<unk>  is associated with Brodmann areas 23 and 31. The<unk>  forms a central node in the default mode network of the brain. It has been shown to communicate with various brain networks simultaneously and is involved in diverse functions. Along with the precuneus, the<unk>  has been implicated as a neural substrate for human awareness in numerous studies of both the anesthesized and vegetative (coma) states. Imaging studies indicate a prominent role for the<unk>  in pain and episodic memory retrieval. Increased size of the ventral<unk>  is related to a decline in working memory performance. The<unk>  has also been strongly implicated as a key part of several intrinsic control networks.
Posterior cingulate cortex
Periventricular nucleus
Piriform cortex
Fusiform body area
Retrosplenial cortex
Posterior parietal cortex
Arcuate nucleus 
Postrhinal cortex