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...

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...

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

A modular neural circuit for computing the motion of objects.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Condition-Dependent Noise Correlations without Condition-Dependent Spike Counts.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Neuropixels reveal laminar microcircuit organization in monkey V1 in vivo.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Live Spike Sorting of Large-scale Neural Recordings.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Dependence of contextual modulation in macaque V1 on interlaminar signal flow.

eLife·2026

Same author

Pupil size predicts exploration through critical slowing in prefrontal dynamics.

Communications biology·2025

Same journal

Costunolide ameliorates autoimmune uveitis by targeting USP15 to suppress TNF-α-induced retinal endothelial inflammation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

A ligandable PNT domain establishes ERG as a directly targetable oncogenic driver in prostate cancer.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Identification of cellular intermediates unveils unique enzymes for flagellar glycan biosynthesis in <i>Clostridioides difficile</i>.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

The structure of correlated variability reflects task-relevant information in sensory neurons.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Shared neurogenetic substrates of nonplanning impulsivity and procrastination.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

HIV-1 capsid interactions with Nuclear Pore Complex components support nuclear entry via affinity gradient.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2025

Author Spotlight: Insights into Visual Cortex Research Through Wide-View fMRI Mapping

Author Spotlight: Insights into Visual Cortex Research Through Wide-View fMRI Mapping

Published on: December 8, 2023

Robust encoding of stimulus-response mapping by neurons in visual cortex.

Donatas Jonikaitis^1,2, Ruobing Xia^1,2, Tirin Moore^1,2

¹HHMI, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|February 24, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Neural activity in primate visual cortex encodes abstract rules, not just sensory information. This finding challenges previous assumptions about how the brain prepares for action.

Keywords:

affordance cognition memory sensorimotor integration visuomotor

More Related Videos

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Published on: October 6, 2011

Laser-scanning Photostimulation of Optogenetically Targeted Forebrain Circuits

Laser-scanning Photostimulation of Optogenetically Targeted Forebrain Circuits

Published on: December 27, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2025

Author Spotlight: Insights into Visual Cortex Research Through Wide-View fMRI Mapping

Author Spotlight: Insights into Visual Cortex Research Through Wide-View fMRI Mapping

Published on: December 8, 2023

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Published on: October 6, 2011

Laser-scanning Photostimulation of Optogenetically Targeted Forebrain Circuits

Laser-scanning Photostimulation of Optogenetically Targeted Forebrain Circuits

Published on: December 27, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Primate Vision

Background:

Neural activity in sensory cortex is modulated by behavior and cognition.
Abstract behavioral variables, like stimulus-response mapping, are typically thought to be encoded outside sensory cortex.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the encoding of abstract behavioral variables in the primate visual cortex.
To determine if neurons in the visual cortex encode stimulus-response mapping rules.

Main Methods:

Monkeys were trained on tasks with alternating stimulus-response mapping rules.
Neural activity in area V4 was recorded during memory-delay periods.
Local inactivation of the frontal eye field (FEF) was performed.

Main Results:

Neurons in area V4 reliably signaled remembered cue location, but this encoding critically depended on the stimulus-response mapping rule.
V4 delay activity encoded the mapping rule and motor response preparation, not just spatial working memory.
Inactivation of FEF reduced motor-related delay activity in V4.

Conclusions:

Primate visual cortex activity reflects more than sensory selection; it actively encodes abstract rules for sensory-guided motor output.
Stimulus-response mapping information is robustly encoded within the visual cortex.
Frontal eye fields contribute to motor-related activity in the visual cortex.