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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...
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.
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,...
Cerebral Hemispheres01:05

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...
Perception01:28

Perception

Perception is a fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to organize, interpret, and consciously experience sensory information. This process is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world around us. It includes both bottom-up and top-down processing, each playing a distinct role in how we perceive our environment.
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...

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Related Experiment Video

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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

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Published on: April 16, 2014

Perception and action selection dissociate human ventral and dorsal cortex.

Akiko Ikkai1, Trenton A Jerde, Clayton E Curtis

  • 1New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|May 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The human cortex is organized into distinct perception and action streams, with ventral regions processing perception and dorsal regions processing action. This segregation is crucial for understanding prefrontal cortex function.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Human Brain Imaging

Background:

  • The functional organization of the human cortex, particularly the segregation of visual processing streams for perception and action, remains a key area of investigation.
  • Previous research has primarily focused on perceptual variables, leaving the role of action selection demands less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the functional organization of the human cortex by correlating brain activity with varying demands on perception and action selection.
  • To test theories regarding the segregation of visual processing into distinct perceptual and action streams within the posterior cortex.
  • To examine the functional dissociation between perception and action selection in the lateral prefrontal cortex (pFC).

Main Methods:

  • Subjects performed a visual search task with increasing perceptual load (array size) and subsequently executed a saccade action based on array color, introducing action selection demands.
  • Brain activity was measured using functional neuroimaging while subjects performed the task.
  • Choice response times were analyzed in conjunction with brain activity to identify task-related neural correlates.

Main Results:

  • Choice response times increased linearly with both perceptual and action selection demands.
  • A double dissociation was observed in the posterior cortex: ventral occipito-temporal cortex activity correlated with perceptual demands, while dorsal parietal cortex activity correlated with action selection demands.
  • Despite segregated anatomical pathways to the lateral pFC, functional dissociation between perception and action selection was not found; increasing action selection demands activated both dorsal and ventral lateral pFC.

Conclusions:

  • The findings provide strong evidence for the segregation of the posterior cortex into distinct visual processing streams for perception (ventral) and action (dorsal).
  • The lateral prefrontal cortex does not exhibit a clear functional dissociation between perception and action selection, with action demands influencing both pathways.
  • Understanding the neural computations underlying action selection is critical for elucidating the functional organization of the prefrontal cortex.