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

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

4.6K
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....
4.6K
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:24

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

902
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...
902
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

1.7K
The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
1.7K
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

2.4K
The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and...
2.4K
Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

38.4K
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.
38.4K
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

1.2K
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the...
1.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Input-dependent directionality of interactions between cortical areas.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Dynamic compression of whole-brain neural trajectories during human motor learning.

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

Age-Related Low Frequency Amplitude Differences in Resting-State Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent Signal in the Cerebellum.

Human brain mapping·2026
Same author

Psychosocial outcomes of medical specialty camps for children with physical disabilities.

Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine·2026
Same author

Interactions across hemispheres in prefrontal cortex reflect global cognitive processing.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

The retrieval of previously learned motor memories is facilitated by the reinstatement of default mode network manifold structures.

PLoS biology·2026
Same journal

Dynamic coordination and segregation mechanisms in higher cortex for parallel task processing.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Higher-order thalamic bursts are drivers of attention control.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Composing trajectories for rapid inference of navigational goals.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Peri-head distance coding in the mouse brainstem.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

A two-timepoint framework for sensitive and specific single-cell activity screening.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

From first impressions to bonds: The neural dynamics of social relationships.

Neuron·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention
09:48

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

Published on: September 11, 2017

10.1K

A posture subspace in the primary motor cortex.

Patrick J Marino1, Lindsay Bahureksa2, Carmen Fernández Fisac2

  • 1Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.

Neuron
|August 28, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain combines movement goals and body posture in the motor cortex (M1). Researchers found these signals are organized in separate, orthogonal neural spaces, allowing flexible action generation.

Keywords:
brain-computer interfacebrain-machine interfacedimensionality reductionmotor cortexneural population dynamicspostureproprioceptionsensory-motor integration

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Assessing Brain Activity in Robotic-Assisted Lower Limb Rehabilitation Using fNIRS
05:25

Author Spotlight: Assessing Brain Activity in Robotic-Assisted Lower Limb Rehabilitation Using fNIRS

Published on: June 7, 2024

1.4K
Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
09:52

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 23, 2020

9.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention
09:48

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

Published on: September 11, 2017

10.1K
Author Spotlight: Assessing Brain Activity in Robotic-Assisted Lower Limb Rehabilitation Using fNIRS
05:25

Author Spotlight: Assessing Brain Activity in Robotic-Assisted Lower Limb Rehabilitation Using fNIRS

Published on: June 7, 2024

1.4K
Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
09:52

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 23, 2020

9.3K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • The brain integrates movement goal and body posture information for action generation.
  • The primary motor cortex (M1) is a critical brain region for this integration.
  • Understanding how M1 organizes these signals is key to explaining flexible movement control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the organization of posture and movement goal signals within the primary motor cortex (M1).
  • To determine how M1 activity permits the flexible generation of movement commands across different body postures.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neural activity in the primary motor cortex (M1) of monkeys.
  • Monkeys performed various tasks involving forearm movements in a range of postures.
  • Analyzed neural population activity to identify posture- and goal-related components.

Main Results:

  • Posture and goal signals were found to be separable within M1 neural population activity.
  • These signals occupied nearly orthogonal subspaces, indicating distinct organizational principles.
  • The organization of posture signals in M1 was stable across different tasks.
  • Neural trajectories for specific movement goals exhibited similar shapes across various postures within each task.

Conclusions:

  • M1 exhibits a simpler organization of posture signals than previously understood.
  • The compartmentalization of posture and goal signals in M1 facilitates their flexible combination.
  • This organization supports the brain's ability to generate a wide repertoire of actions.