Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

7.9K
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,...
7.9K
Brain Imaging01:14

Brain Imaging

501
Brain imaging technologies provide critical insights into both the structure and function of the human brain, enabling medical professionals and researchers to diagnose, study, and treat neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders more effectively.
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans),  magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),  functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...
501
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

6.0K
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....
6.0K
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

451
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...
451
Organization of the Brain01:30

Organization of the Brain

1.9K
The brain is an integral component of the nervous system and serves as the center for processing sensory inputs, making decisions, and directing bodily actions. This complex organ is organized into three primary sections: the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain, each responsible for a range of vital functions.
Hindbrain
The hindbrain, located at the base of the brain, plays a vital role in regulating automatic processes that sustain life. It includes the medulla oblongata, which is essential for...
1.9K
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

2.6K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
2.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Stress drives the hippocampus to prioritize statistical prediction over episodic encoding.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Human learning of noninvasive brain-computer interfaces via manifold geometry.

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same author

Feature overlap in transdiagnostic connectome-based models of sustained attention and autism symptoms.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026
Same author

Multisensory coding of audiovisual movies in the human hippocampus.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Biological validity, test-retest reliability, and behavioral relevance of the single-subject brain volumetric similarity network.

NeuroImage·2026
Same author

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Awake Infants: Insights From More Than 750 Scanning Sessions.

Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

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

Published on: October 24, 2012

15.0K

Searching through functional space reveals distributed visual, auditory, and semantic coding in the human brain.

Sreejan Kumar1,2, Cameron T Ellis2, Thomas P O'Connell3

  • 1Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America.

Plos Computational Biology
|December 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Brain representations are more distributed than previously thought. A new functional searchlight method reveals widespread brain activity, challenging localized models and improving computational neuroscience.

More Related Videos

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
05:55

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

1.4K
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds
13:05

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

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

Published on: October 24, 2012

15.0K
Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
05:55

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

1.4K
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds
13:05

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.5K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • The localization versus distribution of brain functions is a central question in neuroscience.
  • Existing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis methods often exhibit anatomical bias, favoring localized representations.
  • Multivariate fMRI techniques like anatomical searchlight are widely used but can be limited by their reliance on proximity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and validate the functional searchlight approach as an alternative to anatomical searchlight analysis.
  • To investigate the distributed nature of brain representations for various types of information.
  • To enhance the evaluation and constraint of computational models using brain activity data.

Main Methods:

  • Developed the functional searchlight method, which groups voxels based on functional similarity, disregarding anatomical proximity.
  • Applied functional searchlight to fMRI data analyzing responses to visual, auditory, and semantic features from deep neural networks and natural language processing models.
  • Compared functional searchlight with traditional anatomical methods for model-based similarity and decoding accuracy.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests that visual, auditory, and semantic features, as well as object representations, are more widely distributed across the brain than previously recognized.
  • The functional searchlight approach demonstrated improved model-based similarity and decoding accuracy compared to anatomical methods.
  • This method effectively removes anatomical bias inherent in traditional searchlight analyses.

Conclusions:

  • Brain function representation exists on a spectrum from modularity to distributed networks, with evidence leaning towards wider distribution.
  • Functional searchlight offers a novel, bias-free tool for analyzing brain activity and evaluating computational models.
  • This approach advances our understanding of how information is represented and processed in the human brain.