The ability to retain or use new information and recover memories of the past. Memory allows us to store internal representations of knowledge in our brain and retain events from the past to use them in the future. Learning is a key process in memory because it makes it possible to incorporate new information or modify existing information in the previous mental schemas. After this coding and storage, the information, the memory, or the learning should be prepared to be recovered in the future. The hippocampus is a key brain structure in the mnesic process, and works actively during sleep to consolidate the information acquired during the day.

Ability to interpret the stimuli of the environment. Perception is responsible for identifying and making sense of the information received from our sensory organs based on our prior knowledge of the world. Perception is a process that can be given by different senses (like sight, hearing, touch, etc.), and that our brain is responsible for integrating, giving it a sense of whole. The brain areas associated to perception are responsible for uniting the information perceived by the different sensory organs so that we can interact effectively with external stimuli, regardless of the stimulated sensory organ. In order for the perceptual process to be carried out properly, a process of assimilation and understanding of the information received will be necessary.

Ability to efficiently use (order, relate, etc.) the information acquired through the different senses. Through executive functions, we can access and use the information acquired in order to achieve complex goals. This set of superior processes makes it possible for us to relate, classify, order and plan our ideas or actions according to the needs that are imposed in the present or future. They allow us to be flexible and adapt to the environment. The executive functions make it possible to be effective in our day to day lives, solve problems and achieve our objectives even if there are modifications in the original plan.

Ability to efficiently perform precise and ordered movements. Coordination allows us to perform our movements in a quickly and efficiently. The cerebellum is the brain structure responsible for making coordinated movements: from walking, holding a glass, or dancing ballet. It helps to maintain a coherence between our movements and the feedback we get from our senses.

Ability to filter distractions and focus on relevant information. Attention accompanies every cognitive process and is in charge of assigning cognitive resources depending on the relevance of both internal and external stimuli. Good attention skills are necessary for other high-level processes, like memory or planning. Attention is an essential process that requires the use of different parts of the brain, from the brainstem or the parietal cortex, to the prefrontal cortex. However, it seems that the right hemisphere has a predominant role in controlling attention. This cognitive area makes it possible to stay alert and pay attention to the stimuli when other irrelevant distractors are present, concentration for long periods of time, alternating attention between different activities, or dividing attention when two events are happening at the same time.