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Related Concept Videos

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,...
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.
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.
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...
Visual System01:26

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...
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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
09:42

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns

Published on: May 12, 2019

A locus in human extrastriate cortex for visual shape analysis.

N Kanwisher1, R P Woods, M Iacoboni

  • 1Harvard University.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|August 24, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to identify a brain region involved in visual object recognition. This area in the extrastriate cortex activates when processing 3D object shapes, independent of memory.

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Last Updated: May 8, 2026

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
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Published on: May 12, 2019

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
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Published on: March 18, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Visual object recognition is a complex cognitive process.
  • The human extrastriate cortex plays a crucial role in visual processing beyond the primary visual cortex.
  • Understanding the neural basis of shape analysis is fundamental to cognitive neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify specific brain regions in the human extrastriate cortex involved in visual object recognition.
  • To investigate the neural correlates of processing 3-dimensional object shapes.
  • To determine if this process is memory-independent.

Main Methods:

  • Positron emission tomography (PET) was employed to measure regional cerebral blood flow.
  • Subjects viewed line drawings of 3-dimensional objects and scrambled control stimuli.
  • Brain activity was compared between the object viewing and control conditions.

Main Results:

  • A bilateral extrastriate area, located on the inferolateral surface near the occipital-temporal border, showed increased blood flow.
  • A smaller activation was observed in the right fusiform gyrus.
  • These activations occurred for both novel and familiar objects.

Conclusions:

  • The identified extrastriate region is implicated in a specific component process of visual object recognition.
  • This area is involved in the bottom-up, memory-independent analysis of visual shape.
  • Findings contribute to mapping the functional organization of the human visual cortex.