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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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
09:52

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 23, 2020

Putative cortical dopamine levels affect cortical recruitment during planning.

S J Fallon1, A Hampshire, C H Williams-Gray

  • 1Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, United Kingdom; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Neuropsychologia
|August 6, 2013
PubMed
Summary

The COMT gene influences brain activity during planning tasks. Specifically, variations in the COMT gene affect dopamine levels, altering activity in the superior posterior parietal cortex during complex planning.

Keywords:
Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT)DopamineInverted-UPlanningfMRI

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 9, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Goal-directed planning relies on fronto-striatal dopamine (DA) levels.
  • The catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene's val158met polymorphism influences cortical DA levels.
  • Understanding COMT's role in cognitive functions like planning is crucial for both health and disease contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how the COMT val158met polymorphism affects performance and brain activity during a planning task.
  • To examine the modulation of fronto-parietal activity by COMT genotype during the Tower of London (TOL) planning task.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Tower of London (TOL) task to assess planning abilities.
  • Measured brain activity using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • Analyzed the impact of COMT val158met polymorphism (genotype) on task performance and neural activity.

Main Results:

  • COMT genotype significantly modulated activity in the left superior posterior parietal cortex (SPC) during planning relative to subtracting trials.
  • Individuals with low or high cortical DA levels (COMT homozygotes) showed reduced left SPC BOLD response compared to heterozygotes (intermediate DA levels).
  • Behavioral performance on the TOL task remained largely indistinguishable across genotypes, suggesting potential compensatory cognitive strategies.

Conclusions:

  • The COMT val158met polymorphism influences neural processing in the left SPC during planning tasks.
  • Observed differences in brain activity may stem from genotype-specific neuronal processing or the cognitive heterogeneity of the TOL task.
  • Findings have implications for understanding COMT's role in cognitive functions and its relevance in neurological and psychiatric conditions.