association cortex vs association area

association cortex and association area both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
association cortex	Yes	No	No	No
association area	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, association cortex and association area are synonyms defined as:

association cortex and association area: cortical areas that are neither motor or sensory but are thought to be involved in higher processing of information

association cortex (noun)	association area (noun)
cortical areas that are neither motor or sensory but are thought to be involved in higher processing of information	cortical areas that are neither motor or sensory but are thought to be involved in higher processing of information