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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,...

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.

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.
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Vision

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Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

The extrastriate body area (also) subserves visual body detection.

Marius V Peelen¹

¹Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 65252 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|July 9, 2026

Summary

The extrastriate body area (EBA) is visually tuned to body shape, aiding in rapid body detection. This visual processing in the EBA is crucial for social cognition, even in infants.

Keywords:

body specificity category selectivity extrastriate body area neuroimaging ventral temporal cortex

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Social Cognition

Background:

The extrastriate body area (EBA) is involved in various body-related tasks.
Its role as a visual body-selective area remains a key question.

Purpose of the Study:

To review evidence on the EBA's visual selectivity for body shape.
To determine if the EBA is causally involved in visual body detection.

Main Methods:

Review of existing neuroscientific and behavioral evidence.
Analysis of studies investigating visual attention and body perception.

Main Results:

The EBA demonstrates visual tuning to body shape, independent of attention.
Evidence supports the EBA's causal role in detecting bodies visually.

Conclusions:

The EBA's bottom-up processing of body shape explains prioritized visual awareness of bodies.
The EBA likely evolved for rapid conspecific detection, a foundation for social cognition.