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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.

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,...

Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

Lobes of the Cerebrum

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.

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...

Parallel Processing

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

Published on: November 9, 2011

Attention to Multiple Objects Facilitates Their Integration in Prefrontal and Parietal Cortex.

Yee-Joon Kim¹, Jeffrey J Tsai², Jeffrey Ojemann³

¹Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, California 94115, joon@ibs.re.kr.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|April 16, 2017

Summary

Selective attention enhances neural interaction between attended objects, particularly in prefrontal and parietal cortex. This demonstrates how attention shapes visual scene representation for perceptual grouping.

Keywords:

attention to multiple objects electrocorticography perceptual integration prefrontal cortex steady-state visual evoked potential

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Visual Perception

Background:

Selective attention influences how we organize and perceive visual information.
Objects in visual scenes can be perceived as individual entities or as grouped wholes.
Previous research often aggregated neural responses, limiting insight into stimulus-specific interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural interactions between objects when attention is directed towards one or multiple stimuli.
To directly assess neural responses to individual stimuli and their interactions using electrocorticography.
To understand how attentional tasks modulate neural representations in different cortical areas.

Main Methods:

Recorded steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs) via electrocorticography (ECoG).
Utilized a frequency-tagging technique to isolate responses to individual stimuli and their interactions.
Compared neural responses when participants attended to one versus two adjacent stimuli.

Main Results:

Prefrontal and parietal cortex showed enhanced neural interaction between attended stimuli, not individual responses, when attention was divided.
Attending to a single stimulus selectively enhanced its neural response in prefrontal and parietal cortex.
Early visual areas generally responded to stimuli and interactions regardless of attention, with some modulation mirroring higher cortical areas.

Conclusions:

Neural representation of visual scenes becomes more task-specific up the cortical hierarchy.
Attention to multiple objects promotes integration, akin to perceptual grouping.
Task-dependent, stimulus-specific neural interactions in prefrontal and parietal cortex are key for perceptual integration.