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Related Concept Videos

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.
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.
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.
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
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,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Knowing What Counts: Unbiased Stereology in the Non-human Primate Brain
11:25

Knowing What Counts: Unbiased Stereology in the Non-human Primate Brain

Published on: May 14, 2009

How humans count: numerosity and the parietal cortex.

Manuela Piazza1, Véronique Izard

  • 1Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Italy. manuela.piazza@unitn.it

The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry
|May 14, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain represents approximate number sense using parietal circuits, a skill present from infancy and across species. In humans, this system is later repurposed for exact number representation with symbolic counting.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Comparative Psychology

Background:

  • Numerosity, the perception of quantity, is a fundamental environmental property akin to color or motion.
  • Evolution has equipped animal and human brains with parietal circuitry for abstract, approximate numerosity representation.
  • These innate numerosity mechanisms are functional early in human development and observed in various animal species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the neural codes for numerosity representation.
  • To investigate cross-species similarities and differences in numerosity processing.
  • To understand the developmental modifications of the parietal system in humans related to number representation.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology research.
  • Comparative analysis of neural mechanisms across species.
  • Developmental studies on human number representation.

Main Results:

  • Significant progress has been made in identifying the neural underpinnings of numerosity.
  • Similarities and differences in numerosity representation exist across species.
  • Human parietal systems undergo substantial changes with symbolic number acquisition, repurposing approximate mechanisms for exact representation.

Conclusions:

  • The brain's capacity for numerosity perception is evolutionarily ancient and conserved.
  • Human numerical cognition involves a fascinating interplay between innate approximate systems and learned symbolic representations.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mysterious modifications of the parietal system during human development.