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Related Concept Videos

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,...

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.

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...

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...

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.

Parallel Processing

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

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Medial prefrontal cortex is selectively involved in response selection using visual context in the background.

Inah Lee¹, Ji Yun Shin

¹Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea.

Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)

|May 19, 2012

Summary

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is crucial for selecting responses based on visual context. Inactivating the mPFC impaired conditional choice behavior but not basic visual perception or non-visual cue responses.

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Last Updated: May 22, 2026

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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

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

The precise function of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in decision-making processes, particularly conditional choice behavior, remains incompletely understood.
Understanding the neural underpinnings of context-dependent behavior is essential for deciphering complex cognitive functions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the specific role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in conditional choice behavior.
To determine if mPFC is involved in general response inhibition or flexible selection, or if its role is specific to visual contextual cues.

Main Methods:

A visual contextual response selection task was designed to probe conditional choice behavior.
The study employed inactivation techniques targeting the mPFC to assess its necessity for task performance.
Behavioral assessments included evaluating performance in the primary task, visual perceptual discrimination, and response selection using non-visual cues.

Main Results:

Inactivation of the mPFC significantly impaired performance in the conditional response selection task.
mPFC inactivation did not affect the ability to discriminate between visual stimuli.
Response selection remained intact when non-visual cues were used as conditional stimuli, indicating a context-specific role.

Conclusions:

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critically involved in conditional choice behavior specifically when visual context guides response selection.
The findings suggest that the mPFC's role is not in general response inhibition or flexible selection, but rather in integrating visual contextual information for appropriate behavioral output.
This highlights a specialized function of the mPFC in context-dependent decision-making.