1. Associational cortex introduction
Domina Petric, MD
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

2. Cognition
The neural processes by which the brain integrates meaningful stimuli and internal motivations (brain and body states) into awareness and appropriate behavior.
Stimuli may be external and detected by the special sensory systems or internal and related to brain and body state (sense of self).
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

3. Cognition
Brain and body states may reflect emotions, mood, motivations, memory, appetitive drives, injuries, disabilities....
Awareness may be objective or highly subjective.
Response may result in somatic and visceral motor output.
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

4. Cognition
Response may result in altered patterns of neural activity that represent explicit knowledge or emotions, with or without overt motor expression.
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

5. Behavioral functions Behavioral function Neural process Attention
Modulatory influences of brainstem reticular formation, hypothalamus and basal forebrain nuclei on thalamic and cortical processes
Recognition
Coding of feature representations in primary and higher order sensory cortices
Integration
Association of disparate processing streams in associational cortices
Planning
Executive associational cortices in prefrontal cortex
Selection, execution
Implementation of short and long term plans
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

6. Associational cortices
Primary motor cortex
Primary
somatosensory
cortex
Somatosensory
unimodal
association
cortex
Premotor cortex
Anterior
Association
Area
Posterior
Association
Area
Primary visual
cortex
Limbic
Association
Area
Visual unimodal
association cortex
Primary
auditory
cortex
Auditory unimodal
association cortex
Associational cortices
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

7. Associational cortices
They bring together integrating information that is being processed through lower to higher order divisions of sensory and motor regions.
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

8. Thalamic nuclei
First-order thalamic nuclei send inputs into the sensory cortex.
Higher-order thalamic nuclei send inputs into the association cortex and also recieve inputs from the cortex.
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

9. Association cortex of the contralateral hemisphere
Corresponding cortical areas
Non-corresponding cortical areas
Other primary and secondary sensory cortical regions
Motor and premotor cortex
Association cortices:
frontal, parietal, temporal
MD and LP thalamic nuclei, PULVINAR
VA-VL thalamic nuclei complex
Cerebral cortex
Caudate nucleus, putamen, cerebellum
Brainstem modulatory inputs affect the cerebral cortex.
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University

10. Literature
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University
Leonard E. White, PhD, Duke University