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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...

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.

Lobes of the Cerebrum

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.

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,...

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the cerebellum's...

Somatosensation

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

Spatial and non-spatial functions of the parietal cortex.

Jacqueline Gottlieb¹, Lawrence H Snyder

¹Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, USA. jg2141@columbia.edu

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

|November 6, 2010

Summary

The parietal cortex integrates spatial and non-spatial information for cognitive tasks. However, only spatial functions are impaired when the parietal lobe is inactivated, suggesting non-spatial signals support spatial attention.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Systems Neuroscience

Background:

The parietal cortex is traditionally linked to spatial attention and sensorimotor integration.
Emerging evidence suggests its involvement in higher-order cognitive functions beyond spatial processing.

Purpose of the Study:

To review evidence on how parietal cortex neurons integrate spatial and non-spatial information.
To investigate the role of non-spatial signals in parietal function and their relationship to spatial attention.

Main Methods:

Review of neuron recording studies in the parietal cortex.
Analysis of how parietal neurons integrate target location with non-spatial signals (action, category, reward, context, rules).
Examination of results from reversible inactivation of the parietal lobe on spatial and non-spatial task performance.

Main Results:

Inferior parietal neurons integrate target location with diverse non-spatial signals.
Non-spatial inputs can be modulatory or encode task context independently.
Parietal lobe inactivation selectively impairs spatial attention and gaze, not non-spatial performance aspects.

Conclusions:

Non-spatial information processed by the parietal cortex appears to support underlying spatial computations.
These non-spatial signals may guide the selection of relevant targets for attention and action within a task context.
The findings suggest a nuanced role for the parietal cortex, where non-spatial factors modulate spatial processing for complex cognition.