Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
Propagation of Action Potentials01:23

Propagation of Action Potentials

The propagation of an action potential refers to the process by which a nerve impulse, or "action potential," travels along a neuron.
Neurons (nerve cells) have a resting membrane potential, with a slightly negative charge inside compared to outside. This is maintained by ion channels, such as sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) channels, which control the flow of ions. When a stimulus, like a touch or a signal from another neuron, triggers the neuron, sodium channels open, allowing sodium ions to...
Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.
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.
Fixed Action Patterns01:06

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

The impact of physical therapy direct access policy on opioid shipments and opioid-related deaths: A difference-in-differences analysis.

PloS one·2026
Same author

The CARL II cohort: what we did and what came out of it.

Chiropractic & manual therapies·2026
Same author

Subsets of Single Neurons Predict Ensemble Activity and Memory Choices.

Hippocampus·2026
Same author

Blueprints for Change: Integrating Systems Thinking into Musculoskeletal Health Policy; A Response to Recent Commentaries.

International journal of health policy and management·2026
Same author

Latent classes of trial reporting and publication practices in spinal manipulation research: a meta-epidemiological study.

Musculoskeletal science & practice·2025
Same author

Canadian Spine Society: 25th Annual Scientific Conference, February 25 to 28, 2025, Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, La Malbaie, Charlevoix, Que., Canada.

Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments
09:43

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Dynamic coding of goal-directed paths by orbital prefrontal cortex.

James J Young1, Matthew L Shapiro

  • 1Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Alfred B. and Gudrun J. Kastor Neurobiology of Aging Laboratories, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029-6574, USA.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|April 22, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Successful adaptation integrates past experiences with current actions. Orbital prefrontal cortex (OFC) neurons and hippocampal activity associate spatial paths, memory, and reward history, crucial for learning and flexible behavior.

More Related Videos

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze
11:15

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze

Published on: February 20, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments
09:43

A Fully Automated Rodent Conditioning Protocol for Sensorimotor Integration and Cognitive Control Experiments

Published on: April 15, 2014

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze
11:15

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze

Published on: February 20, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

  • Adapting to new situations requires integrating past experiences and action outcomes.
  • The orbital prefrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus are critical for memory and decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how reward history and recent memory influence neuronal coding in the OFC.
  • To explore the role of the OFC in associating spatial paths with outcomes during learning and behavioral flexibility.

Main Methods:

  • Rats were trained on plus maze tasks requiring OFC and hippocampal function.
  • Unit activity and local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded in the OFC and hippocampus during stable performance, reversal learning, and strategy switching.
  • Analysis focused on neuronal firing patterns and theta band LFP coherence.

Main Results:

  • OFC neuronal activity distinguished rewarded paths and correlated with performance during learning of new outcomes.
  • OFC activity patterns were similar during both OFC-dependent reversal learning and OFC-independent strategy switching.
  • Path-selective OFC neurons exhibited journey-dependent coding, similar to hippocampal neurons.
  • Theta band LFP coherence between OFC and hippocampus decreased during adaptation to altered reward contingencies.

Conclusions:

  • OFC neurons associate spatial paths and outcomes, regardless of task dependency.
  • OFC participates in a distributed network with the hippocampus for integrating spatial information, memory, and reward history.
  • Neural oscillations and coherence reflect the brain's ability to adapt behavior based on changing environmental contingencies.