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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....

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.

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,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 26, 2025

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention

Published on: September 11, 2017

A Disinhibitory Circuit for Contextual Modulation in Primary Visual Cortex.

Andreas J Keller¹, Mario Dipoppa², Morgane M Roth¹

¹Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158-0444, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

|December 10, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Contextual visual processing relies on disinhibitory circuits. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and somatostatin (SOM) neurons in the visual cortex control stimulus saliency by modulating excitation based on surrounding visual similarity.

Keywords:

canonical disinhibitory circuit computational modeling contextual modulation figure-ground segregation inhibitory neurons pop-out effects recurrent neural network saliency stabilized supralinear network visual cortex

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Last Updated: Nov 26, 2025

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention

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Published on: September 11, 2017

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Published on: May 7, 2017

Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

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Published on: February 8, 2020

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Visual cortex responses are modulated by surrounding context.
Stimulus saliency is influenced by the similarity between stimulus and surround.
Mechanisms of contextual modulation in the visual cortex are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying contextual modulation of visual cortex responses.
To elucidate the role of inhibitory interneurons in processing stimulus-surround similarity.
To identify the specific circuits involved in regulating perceptual saliency.

Main Methods:

Optical recordings in mouse visual cortex.
In vivo neural circuit manipulations.
Computational modeling of neural activity.
Analysis of stimulus-surround similarity effects.

Main Results:

Disinhibitory circuits involving VIP and SOM neurons modulate visual cortex responses.
When stimulus and surround are similar, SOM neurons suppress excitatory neurons.
When stimulus and surround differ, VIP neurons inhibit SOM neurons, relieving suppression.

Conclusions:

A canonical cortical disinhibitory circuit regulates contextual modulation.
This circuit modulates responses based on stimulus-surround similarity.
The identified circuit plays a role in regulating perceptual saliency.