Synonyms
Secondary association cortex
Definition
Two types of unimodal cortex have been defined, sensory and motor. Three unimodal sensory association areas are typically identified: auditory (along the superior temporal gyrus), visual (peristriate, midtemporal, and inferior temporal areas), and somatosensory (parts of the postcentral gyrus and superior parietal lobule). Each receives input only from the idiotypic cortex with which they are associated (or from other areas within the same modality-specific unimodal region). The output of the unimodal cortices is, in large part (though not exclusively) to the heteromodal areas. In broad terms, the unimodal cortices are thought to be responsible for decoding (analyzing) and/or re-encoding (synthesizing) the sensory input received from their respective primary cortices. This process is thought to result in the more “elementary” stimulus being organized into potentially meaningful, recognizable “chunks” or “percepts.” Lesions limited to...
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References and Readings
Luria, A. R. (1966). Higher cortical functions in man. New York: Basic Books.
Mendoza, J. E., & Foundas, A. L. (2008). Cerebral cortex: Parts II & III. In J. E. Mendoza & A. L. Foundas (Eds.), Clinical neuroanatomy – A neurobehavioral approach (pp. 281–499). New York: Springer.
Mesulam, M. (2000). Behavioral neuroanatomy. In M. Mesulam (Ed.), Principles of behavioral and cognitive neurology (pp. 1–120). New York: Oxford University Press.
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Mendoza, J.E. (2018). Unimodal Cortex. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_810
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_810
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