M5 | Integrative action of the sensorimotor system – Visual system | Association cortices
Association cortices
3 Association cortices | General characteristics
- Parietal-temporal-occipital: multimodality sensory, language
- Prefrontal: cognitive behavior, motor planning
- Limbic: emotion, memory effects on motor planning
How does information reach an association area of cerebral cortex?
Association fibers
- Primary sensory areas (SI, VI, AI): receive sensory information from periphery
- Higher sensory areas: integrate and higher level processing of sensory information
- Association areas:
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- Integrate different modality sensory information.
- Link sensory to motor areas, higher mental functions
Commissural connections
- Commisural fibers in corpus callosum and anterior commissure
- Density of commissural connections varies for different regions (e.g. density is higher for distal limb vs. back)
When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout.