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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.

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...

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

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.

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...

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

Detecting Pre-Stimulus Source-Level Effects on Object Perception with Magnetoencephalography

Detecting Pre-Stimulus Source-Level Effects on Object Perception with Magnetoencephalography

Published on: July 26, 2019

Cortical oscillations and sensory predictions.

Luc H Arnal¹, Anne-Lise Giraud

¹Inserm U960 Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29 rue d'Ulm 75005 Paris, France.

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

|June 12, 2012

Summary

The brain predicts sensory events by updating its internal world model. Neural rhythms help predict both what events will occur and when, using distinct computational mechanisms.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Perception theories emphasize the brain's internal world model for inferring sensory event causes.
Predicting sensory input involves anticipating not only 'what' but also 'when' events are likely to occur.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the neurophysiological underpinnings of sensory predictions for 'what' and 'when'.
To explore the role of low-level oscillatory mechanisms in predictive coding and timing.

Main Methods:

Review of neurophysiological research on predictive coding and predictive timing.
Emphasis on oscillatory mechanisms in neural processing.

Main Results:

Neural rhythms provide distinct computational solutions for predicting 'what' and 'when' sensory events occur.

More Related Videos

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Published on: June 29, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Detecting Pre-Stimulus Source-Level Effects on Object Perception with Magnetoencephalography

Detecting Pre-Stimulus Source-Level Effects on Object Perception with Magnetoencephalography

Published on: July 26, 2019

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Optogenetic Entrainment of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Mice

Published on: June 29, 2018

Low-level oscillatory mechanisms are crucial for both predictive coding and predictive timing.

Conclusions:

Neural oscillations are fundamental to the brain's ability to generate accurate predictions about the sensory environment.
Understanding these mechanisms offers insights into the neurobiology of perception and temporal processing.