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

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,...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Functional connectivity drifts during sleep as a marker of fluctuations in the level of consciousness.

Neuroscience of consciousness·2025

Same author

Functional recovery through the plastic adaptation of organoid grafts in cortical tissue.

Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS·2025

Same author

Transient DREADD Manipulation of the Dorsal Dentate Gyrus in Rats Impairs Initial Learning of Place-Outcome Associations.

Hippocampus·2025

Same author

Testing the role of spontaneous activity in visuospatial perception with patterned optogenetics.

PloS one·2025

Same author

The Neural and Computational Architecture of Feedback Dynamics in Mouse Cortex during Stimulus Report.

eNeuro·2024

Same author

Theta Phase Entrainment of Single-Cell Spiking in Rat Somatosensory Barrel Cortex and Secondary Visual Cortex Is Enhanced during Multisensory Discrimination Behavior.

eNeuro·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2025

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Published on: May 7, 2017

Triple dissociation of visual, auditory and motor processing in mouse primary visual cortex.

Matthijs N Oude Lohuis^1,2,3, Pietro Marchesi^1,2, Umberto Olcese^1,2

¹Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Nature Neuroscience

|February 2, 2024

Summary

Auditory stimuli evoke responses in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice. Researchers dissociated these V1 activities into distinct auditory and motor components, revealing how sensory inputs interact to support vision.

More Related Videos

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

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

Published on: February 8, 2020

Modification of a Colliculo-thalamocortical Mouse Brain Slice, Incorporating 3-D printing of Chamber Components and Multi-scale Optical Imaging

Modification of a Colliculo-thalamocortical Mouse Brain Slice, Incorporating 3-D printing of Chamber Components and Multi-scale Optical Imaging

Published on: September 18, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 4, 2025

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Published on: May 7, 2017

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

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

Published on: February 8, 2020

Modification of a Colliculo-thalamocortical Mouse Brain Slice, Incorporating 3-D printing of Chamber Components and Multi-scale Optical Imaging

Modification of a Colliculo-thalamocortical Mouse Brain Slice, Incorporating 3-D printing of Chamber Components and Multi-scale Optical Imaging

Published on: September 18, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory processing
Crossmodal interactions

Background:

Primary sensory cortices, including the primary visual cortex (V1), exhibit responses to crossmodal stimuli, such as auditory input.
It is debated whether these responses are direct sensory inputs or secondary effects of behavioral modulation, like sound-evoked body movements.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the nature of sound-evoked activity in the primary visual cortex (V1).
To differentiate between direct auditory sensory input and behavioral modulation in V1 responses.
To understand the interaction of distinct inputs within the visual cortex.

Main Methods:

Electrophysiological recordings in awake mice.
Analysis of neural activity in V1 in response to auditory stimuli.
Correlation of V1 neural activity with orofacial movements.
Examination of laminar profiles and neuronal population segregation.

Main Results:

Sound-evoked V1 activity was dissociated into auditory and behavioral components with distinct spatiotemporal profiles.
The auditory component initiated around 27 ms, originating from the auditory cortex and present in superficial and deep layers.
Sound-evoked orofacial movements, starting around 80-100 ms, correlated with V1 activity and explained auditory frequency tuning.
Auditory, motor, and visual activities were segregated in different laminar profiles and neuronal populations.
Visual representations remained distinct from auditory and motor activity during simultaneous audiovisual stimulation.

Conclusions:

V1 responses to sound can be attributed to both direct auditory input and sound-induced motor activity.
These auditory and motor components possess distinct spatiotemporal characteristics and neuronal substrates.
The dissociability of auditory, motor, and visual processing in V1 is crucial for understanding crossmodal interactions and their role in visual perception.