Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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.

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...

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.

Anatomy of the Eyeball

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

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:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

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,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Understanding Navon: Different designs of local-global tasks capture different bias effects.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Same author

Tracing aesthetic experience from perception and conception to appraisal using deep convolutional neural networks.

iScience·2026

Same author

From pixels to perception: A benchmark for human-like symmetry detection.

Vision research·2026

Same author

Finding Closure: A Closer Look at the Gestalt Law of Closure in Convolutional Neural Networks.

Computational brain & behavior·2026

Same author

Variability and predictability as key factors in a new approach to choreographic complexity in dance.

Cognition·2026

Same author

Rethinking neuroaesthetics: Toward a multidimensional and integrative science of aesthetic experience.

Neuron·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

Multiple scales of organization for object selectivity in ventral visual cortex.

Marijke Brants¹, Annelies Baeck, Johan Wagemans

¹Laboratory of Biological Psychology, University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.

|March 8, 2011

Summary

The ventral visual cortex organizes object knowledge hierarchically. This study reveals that category selectivity operates at a coarser spatial scale than exemplar selectivity in the human brain.

More Related Videos

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Published on: May 23, 2025

High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain

High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain

Published on: May 10, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Published on: May 23, 2025

High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain

High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain

Published on: May 10, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Visual Perception

Background:

Object knowledge is known to be hierarchical.
Hypotheses suggest this hierarchy is reflected in the spatial organization of the ventral visual cortex.
Previous research lacked empirical evidence from human subjects.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the spatial scales of organization for category versus exemplar selectivity in the ventral visual cortex.
To investigate the relationship between object knowledge hierarchy and neural representation.
To provide empirical evidence for multi-scale organization in visual processing.

Main Methods:

Analysis of two fMRI datasets using two distinct methods.
Investigating the effect of spatial smoothing on multi-voxel pattern reliability.
Comparing spatial frequency content of selectivity patterns.

Main Results:

Findings indicate that finer distinctions (exemplar selectivity) are organized at a finer spatial scale than broader categories (category selectivity).
Results support the hypothesis that spatial organization in the ventral visual cortex mirrors the hierarchical nature of object knowledge.
Confirmed the existence of multiple, distinct spatial scales of neural organization.

Conclusions:

The ventral visual pathway exhibits multiple scales of organization, reflecting the hierarchical structure of object representations.
Neural representations of object categories and exemplars are spatially segregated according to their level in the knowledge hierarchy.
This study provides crucial empirical support for spatially organized, hierarchical object representations in the human brain.