The temporal lobe is one of the four main lobes of the cerebral cortex, located in the middle cranial fossa, just behind the temples within the skull. It is responsible for several essential activities such as processing of memory, language, and emotion. The temporal lobe is the second largest lobe, accounting for 22% of the total neocortical volume. The temporal lobe is responsible for the following functions:

• Processing auditory information: The temporal lobe is most commonly associated with processing auditory information. It receives sensory information such as sounds and speech from the ears and is key to being able to comprehend or understand meaningful speech.

• Encoding of memory: The temporal lobe is involved in storing and retrieving memories. It contains areas of the brain that manage or contribute to memory. The hippocampus and the amygdala are critical brain structures housed in the temporal lobe.

• Processing affect/emotions: The temporal lobes are believed to play an important role in processing affect/emotions.

• Language: The dominant temporal lobe, which is the left side in most people, is involved in understanding language and learning and remembering verbal information. The temporal lobe plays a role in how you communicate with other people, use language, and process emotions.

• Certain aspects of visual perception: The temporal lobes are also believed to play an important role in certain aspects of visual perception.

Damage to the temporal lobes can result in several difficulties such as difficulty in understanding spoken words, disturbance with selective attention to what we see and hear, difficulty with identification and categorization of objects, difficulty learning and retaining new information, impaired factual and long-term memory, persistent talking, difficulty in recognizing faces, increased or decreased interest in sexual behavior, and emotional disturbance.