Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

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 Cortex01:23

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...
Lobes of the Cerebrum01:22

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.
Thermosensation01:43

Thermosensation

Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Prognostic value of modified Erasmus Guillaiun Barre' syndrome outcome score (mEGOS) in an Italian cohort of patients: Challenges, insights and limitations.

Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·2026
Same author

Voluntary modulation of mental effort affects the attentional shift induced by angry faces in women.

NeuroImage·2026
Same author

The olfactory functional network in the Alzheimer's disease continuum: a resting state fMRI study.

Frontiers in aging neuroscience·2026
Same author

Angry facial expressions elicit a late attentional withdrawal.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Predictors of poor prognosis in Guillain-Barre' syndrome: a study of 22 years from a single Italian Center.

Journal of the neurological sciences·2025
Same author

Differential Association Between Default Mode Network Connectivity and Attachment Styles in Healthy Individuals and Crohn's Disease Patients.

Brain and behavior·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Exploring Deep Space - Uncovering the Anatomy of Periventricular Structures to Reveal the Lateral Ventricles of the Human Brain
17:13

Exploring Deep Space - Uncovering the Anatomy of Periventricular Structures to Reveal the Lateral Ventricles of the Human Brain

Published on: October 22, 2017

Does it look painful or disgusting? Ask your parietal and cingulate cortex.

Francesca Benuzzi1, Fausta Lui, Davide Duzzi

  • 1Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|January 25, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Observing painful or disgusting scenes activates overlapping brain regions, but the parietal cortex is uniquely involved in processing visual pain stimuli. This highlights distinct neural pathways for sensory pain recognition.

More Related Videos

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
10:05

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Published on: May 7, 2017

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
07:29

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation

Published on: December 29, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Exploring Deep Space - Uncovering the Anatomy of Periventricular Structures to Reveal the Lateral Ventricles of the Human Brain
17:13

Exploring Deep Space - Uncovering the Anatomy of Periventricular Structures to Reveal the Lateral Ventricles of the Human Brain

Published on: October 22, 2017

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
10:05

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Published on: May 7, 2017

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
07:29

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation

Published on: December 29, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Affective Neuroscience

Background:

  • Visual stimuli depicting painful situations activate brain areas associated with pain processing.
  • Pain perception involves both sensory and affective components, prompting investigation into overlaps with other negative emotions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare brain activation patterns when observing painful, disgusting, and neutral visual stimuli.
  • To determine if visually evoked representations of pain and disgust overlap in the brain.

Main Methods:

  • Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in female volunteers.
  • Participants viewed video clips of painful, disgusting, or neutral stimuli applied to the hand or foot.

Main Results:

  • Both painful and disgusting stimuli activated shared cortical areas, including medial prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, left posterior insula, and right parietal operculum.
  • Signal changes in the perigenual cingulate and left anterior insula correlated with perceived unpleasantness.
  • Painful scenes selectively activated left parietal foci, suggesting its role in sensory pain recognition, while disgusting scenes activated the posterior cingulate cortex.

Conclusions:

  • Observing noxious and disgusting stimuli elicits both overlapping and distinct brain activity patterns.
  • The parietal cortex is specifically engaged in recognizing noxious environmental stimuli, indicating its role in the sensory aspects of pain perception.