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Stimulating the Lip Motor Cortex with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: June 14, 2014
The dorsal premotor cortex orchestrates concurrent speech and fingertapping movements
Ingo G Meister1, Dorothee Buelte, Mario Staedtgen
1Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany. igmeister@gmx.de
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|May 21, 2009
Summary
Coordinating speech and hand movements involves a distinct premotor cortex (PMC) area, separate from regions active during individual tasks. This finding reveals a specialized network for integrating complex movements of different effectors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Human speech and hand movements are complex, specialized motor skills.
- Previous research detailed motor systems for speech and finger movements individually.
- The neural network coordinating concurrent speech and hand actions remained largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate differential cortical networks for speech versus fingertapping.
- Identify brain regions involved in integrating concurrent speech and hand movements.
- Determine if overlapping and integrative regions are distinct.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
- Compared brain activity during sole speech, sole fingertapping, and concurrent tasks.
- Analyzed conjunction contrasts and differential activation patterns.
Main Results:
- Sole speech and fingertapping activated overlapping contralateral motor cortex regions.
- Concurrent speech and hand movements showed distinct premotor cortex (PMC) activations, dorsal and caudal to overlapping areas.
- The integrative region for concurrent movements is not identical to the overlapping activation area.
Conclusions:
- The premotor cortex (PMC) plays a crucial role in coordinating concurrent speech and hand movements.
- A distinct PMC area is responsible for orchestrating these complex, multi-effector movements.
- This coordination requires a specialized network beyond simple overlapping motor cortex activation.
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