A larger scale version appears in Chapter 15 and is available for download in the Download Files area reached from the Site navigation bar.

This figure illustrates how sensory information is fed to the higher perceptual areas of the cortex for evaluation via a series of feature extraction engines. The data is delivered to a data base in abstract vector form. The area labeled "Event" would constitute one vector in this data base. Spatial position relative to location on the retina or in the visual field is not mapped into this space. This data base can be considered the primary area of short term memory.

It should be noted that the feature extraction engines are virtually stand-alone processing centers. Signals within these centers are passed without reliance on projection neurons which exhibit limited signal transmission velocity. The signals passed within the engine may be passed as speeds on the order of 100 times the speed of projection neuron signals.

In the process of perception, the perceptual region considers the data being received currently and can draw on its access to longer term memory in order to prepare a first order perceptual report to the cognitive portions of the cortex generally located in the frontal lobe of the cortex.

The complete discussion of this figure is found in Section 15.2 of Chapter 15.

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