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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.

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.

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,...

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...

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

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

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

Published on: May 7, 2017

Localizing cortical computations during visual selection.

Gregor Rainer¹

¹Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. gregor.rainer@tuebingen.mpg.de

|February 29, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers studied brain signals to understand target selection. Timing analysis of local field potentials (LFPs) and spikes suggests frontal eye field (FEF) performs this task locally.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Extracellular microelectrodes record brain activity, including local field potentials (LFPs) and spikes.
Understanding neural mechanisms of target selection is crucial in cognitive neuroscience.

Discussion:

The study by Monosov et al. analyzed the temporal relationships between LFPs and spikes.
This analysis provides insights into the neural computations underlying visual attention and decision-making.

Key Insights:

Target selection from distractors is a specific computational operation.
This operation is localized within the frontal eye field (FEF).

Outlook:

Further research can explore the precise circuits within the FEF involved in target selection.
Investigating how FEF interacts with other brain regions during this process is warranted.