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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.

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,...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Published on: February 8, 2020

Functional specialization of mouse higher visual cortical areas.

Mark L Andermann¹, Aaron M Kerlin, Demetris K Roumis

¹Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Goldenson 243, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

|December 27, 2011

Summary

Mice visual cortex processes sensory information differently in distinct areas. Area AL responds to fast stimuli, while area PM responds to slow stimuli, guiding specific behaviors.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual processing
Sensory neocortex function

Background:

Mice are key models for sensory neocortex research.
Understanding visual cue processing beyond primary visual cortex (V1) is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

Compare visual responses in V1 and downstream areas AL and PM in awake mice.
Investigate how visual information is transformed across cortical areas.

Main Methods:

Two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice.
Recorded neural activity in V1, AL, and PM.
Analyzed neuronal responses to various visual stimuli.

Main Results:

V1 neurons showed diverse stimulus preferences.
AL and PM neurons preferred distinct stimulus parameter ranges.
AL neurons preferred fast stimuli; PM neurons preferred slow stimuli.
All areas showed similar orientation selectivity but not direction selectivity.

Conclusions:

Area AL may guide behaviors involving fast-moving stimuli (e.g., optic flow).
Area PM may guide behaviors involving slow-moving objects.
Suggests functional specialization of visual processing in downstream cortical areas.