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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....

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.

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...

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,...

Anatomy of the Brain: Major Regions

Anatomy of the Brain: Major Regions

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It consists of four main parts: the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brainstem.
The cerebrum is the largest section of the brain and divides into left and right hemispheres, separated by a deep fissure. The cerebral outer layer of grey matter — the cerebral cortex — comprises elevations called gyri and shallow groves called sulci. The inner portion of white matter includes long nerve fibers known as axons, which connect...

Cerebellum: Anatomical Regions

Cerebellum: Anatomical Regions

The cerebellum, also known as the "little brain," is located in the posterior cranial fossa, inferior to the tentorium cerebelli and dorsal to the brainstem. It plays a significant role in motor control, coordination, and proprioception.
Cerebellar Structure
Externally, the cerebellum features a highly convoluted surface with numerous folia (narrow ridges) separated by shallow sulci (grooves). The cerebellum is divided into two hemispheres by a thin median structure known as the vermis. The...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices

Published on: January 22, 2018

Cortical Maps.

James A Bednar¹, Stuart P Wilson²

¹School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK jbednar@inf.ed.ac.uk.

The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry

|August 21, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores how sensory cortical regions organize neural representations. Input-driven self-organization models explain many cortical map phenomena, but challenges remain, necessitating further research into development mechanisms.

Keywords:

cortical map primate receptive field rodent self-organization topographic map topological map visual cortex

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Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

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Published on: October 24, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

The brain's sensory cortex organizes information to represent the external world.
Understanding cortical organization is key to understanding perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the functional organization of sensory cortical regions.
To examine how computational models explain cortical map development.
To identify challenges and propose future research directions.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on cortical organization.
Analysis of four key aspects of cortical organization: receptive fields, lateral interactions, spatial distribution, and property interactions.
Evaluation of the input-driven self-organization theory and computational models.

Main Results:

Cortical maps are largely explained by input-driven self-organization models.
These models provide a parsimonious account for various map-related phenomena.
Challenges include maps present at birth, under activity blockade, adult plasticity limits, and rodent-specific map absence.

Conclusions:

Input-driven self-organization is a leading theory for cortical map development.
Further experiments are needed to explore alternative or complementary developmental mechanisms.
Addressing current challenges will refine our understanding of how the cortex represents the world.