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Related Concept Videos

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.
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

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,...
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...
Vision01:24

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.
Lobes of the Cerebrum01:22

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.
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

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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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
07:08

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

Published on: August 1, 2018

Visual categorization and the parietal cortex.

Jamie K Fitzgerald1, Sruthi K Swaminathan, David J Freedman

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA.

Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
|May 15, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The primate brain rapidly categorizes stimuli, with the parietal cortex, specifically the lateral intraparietal area (LIP), showing strong early signals for learned categories, challenging traditional views of frontal lobe dominance in higher cognition.

Keywords:
LIPcategorizationelectrophysiologyfrontal cortexlearningneuroscienceparietal cortex

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Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices
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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
07:08

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

Published on: August 1, 2018

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation
07:11

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation

Published on: December 8, 2023

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices
08:49

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices

Published on: January 22, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Primate Brain Research

Background:

  • The primate brain excels at categorizing stimuli for behavior and stimulus recognition.
  • Higher cognitive functions were traditionally attributed to frontal brain regions.
  • Emerging evidence indicates the parietal cortex's role in categorization and association.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the parietal cortex in processing learned visual categories.
  • To compare the timing and strength of categorization signals in parietal versus frontal areas.
  • To determine if parietal categorization signals originate from prefrontal cortex feedback.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neural activity in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP), a subdivision of the parietal cortex.
  • Trained primates on visual categorization tasks with multiple stimulus types.
  • Compared categorization signal timing and strength between parietal and frontal cortex regions.

Main Results:

  • The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) demonstrated robust reflection of learned visual categories.
  • Parietal cortex exhibited stronger and earlier categorization signals compared to frontal areas.
  • Findings suggest parietal abstract association signals are unlikely to be solely due to prefrontal cortex feedback.

Conclusions:

  • The parietal cortex, particularly LIP, plays a crucial role in rapid visual categorization.
  • Parietal involvement in categorization challenges the traditional frontal lobe-centric view of higher cognition.
  • Categorization signals in the parietal cortex appear to be generated independently of, or prior to, prefrontal cortex feedback.