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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....

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...

Topographic Surveying and Contours

Topographic Surveying and Contours

Topographic surveying is critical for documenting the Earth's surface, focusing on capturing elevations, slopes, and natural and man-made features. It is essential in construction planning, water resource management, and land-use analysis. The primary outcome of such surveys is a topographic map, which uses contour lines to visually represent the shape and slope of the terrain, providing valuable insights into the landscape's characteristics.Contour lines are fundamental to understanding 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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI

Published on: February 3, 2015

Contour extracting networks in early extrastriate cortex.

Serge O Dumoulin¹, Robert F Hess², Keith A May³

¹Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Journal of Vision

|June 1, 2014

Summary

Neurons in the visual cortex interact to detect contours, forming an association field. This study used fMRI and population receptive field (pRF) mapping to pinpoint contour integration in V2/V3, revealing neural interactions in early visual processing.

Keywords:

Gabor filter association field functional magnetic resonance imaging population receptive fields visual cortex

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Last Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI

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Published on: February 3, 2015

Large-scale Reconstructions and Independent, Unbiased Clustering Based on Morphological Metrics to Classify Neurons in Selective Populations

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

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Published on: August 1, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

Neurons in the visual cortex process local visual information but require interaction for complex image analysis.
The association field theory posits that neurons interact to detect extended contours, crucial for understanding natural images.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the specific location and characteristics of contour integration mechanisms within the visual cortex.
To investigate neural interactions underlying contour perception using advanced neuroimaging techniques.

Main Methods:

Employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity.
Utilized population receptive field (pRF) mapping with custom stimuli designed to isolate contour integration.
Manipulated contour content in stimuli to systematically alter pRF size and analyze changes.

Main Results:

pRF size changes in V1 were explained by Gabor filters, but V2/V3 pRF sizes aligned with association field predictions.
Later visual areas (hV4, LO-1, LO-2) showed pRF changes not explained by either model, suggesting distinct mechanisms.
Observed pRF changes did not correlate with standard fMRI signal strength measures.

Conclusions:

Contour integration mechanisms are located in the early extrastriate visual cortex (V2/V3), supporting the association field theory.
pRF analysis offers a novel computational neuroimaging approach to study neural interactions in visual processing.
Neural interactions in V2/V3 involve cooriented, cocircular receptive fields, consistent with contour association.