Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
Cortical motor representation in view of recent experiments on cortico-spinal relations
Abstract:
The results of recent experiments using either intracortical stimulation or stimulation of the surface of the motor cortex were reviewed from the point of view of "muscle" and "movement" cortical representation. It has been concluded that there is no satisfactory evidence for location of the pyramidal tract (PT) cells which project directly (monosynaptically) to motoneurones of one muscle in primates within small and separate cortical areas; such evidence is even weaker for PT cells which exert their effects via polysynaptic pathways in other species. The available evidence shows in contrast a very pronounced overlap of cortical areas of projection to different motor nuclei.
Related Concept Videos
Somatosensation
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy
Gray Matter and its Components
Central to the gray matter is...
Hierarchy of Motor Control
Direct Motor Pathways
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

