Functional MR imaging: from the BOLD effect to higher motor cognition

The key contributions of functional imaging to our understanding of the human motor system and higher motor disorders are reviewed in this chapter. Following a short introduction into the method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), some core aspects of the human motor system (multiple nonprimary motor areas, the mirror neuron system, intraparietal multimodal cortex) are highlighted. Finally, the convergence (and divergence) of functional imaging and neurological data from patients with lesions of the motor system is discussed with special emphasis to how this informs our current knowledge of the pathophysiology of higher motor disorders.