ventral

1. not comparableRelated to the abdomen or stomach.
2. not comparableanatomyOn the front side of the human body, or the corresponding surface of an animal, usually the lower surface.
3. not comparableanatomyOn or relating to the sole of the foot or the palmar surface of the hand.
4. not comparableanatomyOn the lower side of the brain.

   1 more example

   Mental imagery allows us to remember previous experiences and imagine new ones. Animal studies have yielded rich insight into mechanisms for visual perception, but the neural mechanisms for visual imagery remain poorly understood. We determined that approximately 80% of visually responsive single neurons in the human ventral temporal cortex (VTC) use a distributed axis code to represent objects. We used that code to reconstruct objects and generate maximally effective synthetic stimuli. We then recorded responses from the same neural population while subjects imagined specific objects; about 40% of axis-tuned VTC neurons recapitulated the visual code. Our findings reveal that visual imagery is supported by reactivation of the same neurons involved in perception, providing single-neuron evidence for the existence of a generative model in human VTC.

   2026 April 9, V. S. Wadia, C. M. Reed, J. M. Chung, L. M. Bateman, A. N. Mamelak, “A shared code for perceiving and imagining objects in human ventral temporal cortex”, in Science, →DOI

plural ventrals

1. Any of the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of a snake's body from the neck to the anal scale.