Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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.

Visual System

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...

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

The Vestibular System

The Vestibular System

The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Effects of riluzole on excitation-inhibition imbalance and functional connectivity in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: a multimodal 7-Tesla MRI study.

Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging·2026

Same author

Predictive acoustical processing in human cortical layers.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Principles of gamma synchrony predict figure-ground perception in texture stimuli.

eLife·2026

Same author

Laminar CBV and BOLD response characteristics over time and space in the human primary somatosensory cortex at 7T.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2026

Same author

Whole-brain meso-vein imaging in living humans using fast 7-T MRI.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Efficacy of glutamate-GABA modulator riluzole for the treatment of cognitive and psychotic symptoms in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: A placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Psychiatry research·2025

Same journal

Non-canonical amino acid incorporation enables minimally disruptive labeling of stress granule and TDP-43 proteinopathy.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Analysis of dendritic input currents during place field dynamics.

eLife·2026

Same journal

TopoMetry systematically learns and evaluates the latent geometry of single-cell data.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Navigating the path: Advice to physician-scientists on choosing a clinical specialty.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Neural activity profiles reveal overlapping, intermingled subpopulations spanning area borders in mouse sensorimotor cortex.

eLife·2026

Same journal

The exquisite mechanics of a tsetse bite.

eLife·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 19, 2025

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Published on: August 22, 2025

Feedback contribution to surface motion perception in the human early visual cortex.

Ingo Marquardt¹, Peter De Weerd^1,2, Marian Schneider¹

¹Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (MBIC) Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.

|June 5, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals how feedback signals are processed in the human brain's early visual cortex (V1) during surface perception. Using advanced fMRI, researchers mapped feedback activity, showing its role in illusory motion perception.

Keywords:

cortical layers feedback human laminar fMRI neuroscience surface motion perception top-down visual cortex

More Related Videos

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

Published on: August 25, 2020

Author Spotlight: Assessment of Visual Acuity in Central Vision Loss Through Motion-Based Peripheral Vision Testing

Author Spotlight: Assessment of Visual Acuity in Central Vision Loss Through Motion-Based Peripheral Vision Testing

Published on: February 23, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 19, 2025

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane

Published on: August 22, 2025

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles

Published on: August 25, 2020

Author Spotlight: Assessment of Visual Acuity in Central Vision Loss Through Motion-Based Peripheral Vision Testing

Author Spotlight: Assessment of Visual Acuity in Central Vision Loss Through Motion-Based Peripheral Vision Testing

Published on: February 23, 2024

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

Neural correlates of human visual surface perception are found in the early visual cortex.
The specific role of feedback in surface segmentation within this region is not yet understood.
Feedback projections target superficial and deep cortical layers, suggesting a potential depth distribution for related activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the depth distribution of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity related to feedback during surface perception.
To explore the role of feedback in illusory surface motion perception within the early visual cortex.
To determine how background texture and illusory motion influence feedback-related neural signals.

Main Methods:

Utilized ultra-high field fMRI to achieve depth-resolved imaging in the human visual cortex.
Analyzed the depth distribution of Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) responses during illusory surface motion perception.
Investigated the modulation of BOLD signals by background texture and illusory motion.

Main Results:

Observed a depth distribution of fMRI activation consistent with feedback processing during illusory surface motion perception.
Evidence suggests a re-entry of signals in superficial layers of V1, followed by feedforward processing through V2 and V3.
The BOLD response magnitude and sign were significantly influenced by background texture and illusory motion.

Conclusions:

Depth-resolved fMRI is a valuable tool for investigating the biomechanics of perceptual processes.
The findings support a model where feedback signals are re-entered into superficial cortical layers and propagate feedforward.
This study provides insights into the neural mechanisms underlying visual surface segmentation and motion perception.