Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 7, 2026

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
Published on: May 7, 2017
The cortical activation model (CAM)
1Laboratory of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI-Lab), Institute of Knowledge Discovery, Graz University of Technology, Krenngasse 37, A-8010 Graz, Austria. pfurtscheller@tugraz.at
Abstract:
The Cortical Activation Model (CAM) is an attempt to explain whether an internally or externally paced event reveals an event-related desynchronization (ERD) or event-related synchronization (ERS) in a specific frequency band. It is assumed that the amplitude of network-specific oscillations depends on, in addition to other factors, the number of neurons available for synchronization and the excitability level of neurons and forms a bell-shaped curve with a maximum of oscillatory activity at a certain balance of both factors. Depending on the baseline level of cortical activation (CA) and the location of the "working point" (WP), a sudden change of activation can induce either ERD or ERS in a given area.
Related Concept Videos
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
Sympathetic Activation
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
Optimal Arousal Theory
Inverted U-Shaped Performance Curve
The...
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...

