Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
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.

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
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,...

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...

Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

Lobes of the Cerebrum

Lobes of the Cerebrum

The cerebral cortex, a critical structure of the brain, is intricately divided into two hemispheres, each consisting of four distinct lobes: occipital, temporal, frontal, and parietal. These lobes function cooperatively to regulate various cognitive and sensory functions, forming the basis of our complex neural capabilities.
Frontal lobe
The frontal lobes, located behind the forehead, are the command center of our brain, controlling personality, intelligence, and voluntary muscle movements.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Longitudinal surface-based morphometry reveals potential MRI biomarkers correlated with multidimensional brain health measures.

Brain imaging and behavior·2026

Same author

Remote data collection and cognitive task performance in the age of internet bad actors.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same author

Modeled Long-Term Effects of Psilocybin on Dynamic Activity and Effective Connectivity of Fronto-Striatal-Thalamic Circuits.

Human brain mapping·2026

Same author

Functional brain organization is stable within individuals across years.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Predicting Substance Use and Psychotic-Like Experiences in Adolescents.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026

Same author

NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Prostate Cancer, Version 5.2026.

Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Functional interactions between prefrontal and visual association cortex contribute to top-down modulation of visual

Adam Gazzaley¹, Jesse Rissman, Jeffrey Cooney

¹Department of Neurology and Physiology, Keck Center of Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-2522, USA. adam.gazzaley@ucsf.edu

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|November 21, 2007

Summary

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) modulates visual association cortex (VAC) activity based on attention. Stronger PFC-VAC coupling correlates with attention-driven enhancement or suppression of neural activity in visual processing.

More Related Videos

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Published on: November 9, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Published on: November 9, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

Top-down control from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for attention-dependent modulation of neural activity in the visual association cortex (VAC).
Previous research demonstrated that PFC influences VAC activity levels (enhancement or suppression) based on attentional goals during working memory tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the neural sources of top-down modulatory signals influencing the visual association cortex (VAC).
To investigate how attentional goals affect functional network interactions with the VAC.

Main Methods:

Functional connectivity analysis was employed to examine network interactions with the VAC.
A seed region in scene-selective VAC (ssVAC) was used to identify correlated activity in other brain regions.
Correlations were analyzed across different attentional conditions (attended, ignored, passive viewing).

Main Results:

A network of regions showed strong positive correlations with the ssVAC seed, including the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in the PFC.
The MFG-VAC coupling strength varied with attentional goals, being higher during attended scenes and lower during ignored scenes compared to passive viewing.
The magnitude of MFG-VAC coupling correlated with the degree of attentional enhancement and suppression observed in VAC activity.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in biasing activity levels within the visual association cortex (VAC).
Functional coupling strength between PFC regions like the MFG and VAC is adjusted based on the relevance of visual stimuli.
While directionality cannot be definitively determined, the results support a model where PFC modulates VAC activity through dynamic changes in functional connectivity.