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Related Concept Videos

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

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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....
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Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:23

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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...
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Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

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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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Vision01:24

Vision

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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.
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Perception01:28

Perception

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Perception is a fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to organize, interpret, and consciously experience sensory information. This process is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world around us. It includes both bottom-up and top-down processing, each playing a distinct role in how we perceive our environment.
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Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

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The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
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A shared code for perceiving and imagining objects in human ventral temporal cortex.

V S Wadia1,2, C M Reed3, J M Chung3

  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 9, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human brain imaging reveals that visual imagery reactivates the same neurons used for visual perception. This suggests the brain uses a generative model for imagining objects, supported by ventral temporal cortex (VTC) neurons.

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Last Updated: Apr 11, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Animal studies offer insights into visual perception mechanisms.
  • Neural mechanisms underlying human visual imagery are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the neural basis of visual imagery in the human brain.
  • Determine if visual imagery utilizes the same neural pathways as visual perception.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded single-neuron activity in the human ventral temporal cortex (VTC).
  • Identified a distributed axis code used by VTC neurons to represent objects.
  • Generated synthetic stimuli based on this neural code.
  • Compared neural responses during object perception and imagination.

Main Results:

  • Approximately 80% of visually responsive VTC neurons use a distributed axis code for object representation.
  • About 40% of axis-tuned VTC neurons recapitulated their visual code during mental imagery.
  • Demonstrated single-neuron evidence for a generative model in the human VTC.

Conclusions:

  • Visual imagery involves the reactivation of neural populations engaged in visual perception.
  • The human ventral temporal cortex (VTC) plays a crucial role in both perception and imagery.
  • Findings support the existence of a generative model for mental imagery in the brain.