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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...
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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:
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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.
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Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
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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...
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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...

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How to Build a Dichoptic Presentation System That Includes an Eye Tracker
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Published on: September 6, 2017

Human parietal cortex structure predicts individual differences in perceptual rivalry.

Ryota Kanai1, Bahador Bahrami, Geraint Rees

  • 1UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK. r.kanai@ucl.ac.uk

Current Biology : CB
|August 24, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Individual differences in brain structure, specifically the superior parietal lobes (SPL), explain variations in how quickly people perceive changing visual information. Disrupting the SPL causally affects perceptual alternation rates.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Perception

Background:

  • Conscious perception can spontaneously switch between competing interpretations of ambiguous visual input.
  • Significant unexplained variability exists in the rate of these perceptual alternations among individuals.
  • Brain structure differences may underlie individual variations in cognitive experiences and skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between brain structure and individual differences in the rate of perceptual alternations.
  • To determine if macroscopic brain structural measures correlate with alternation rates in perceptual rivalry.

Main Methods:

  • Examined correlations between cortical thickness, gray-matter density, white-matter integrity, and alternation rates for a bistable structure-from-motion stimulus.
  • Utilized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess the causal role of specific brain regions in perceptual alternations.

Main Results:

  • Macroscopic brain structural measures consistently showed that the bilateral superior parietal lobes (SPL) account for interindividual variability in perceptual alternation rates.
  • Transient disruption of the bilateral SPL using TMS led to a decreased rate of perceptual alternations.

Conclusions:

  • Structural differences in the bilateral superior parietal lobes (SPL) are directly linked to an individual's perceptual switch rate.
  • The SPL plays a causal role in modulating the speed of perceptual alternations.