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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain

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Published on: July 1, 2019

Ethological Action Maps: A Paradigm Shift for the Motor Cortex.

Michael S A Graziano¹

¹Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

|December 3, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The motor cortex contains more than just a body map; it also has an action map organizing behaviors. This ethological action map, confirmed across species, reveals functional zones for complex actions.

Keywords:

grasping intracortical stimulation motor cortex parietal cortex reaching

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Cortex Research
Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

The motor cortex is famously mapped to body parts, but this representation is imperfect, showing overlaps and fractures.
This complexity suggests that a simple somatotopic (body) map is insufficient to explain motor cortex organization.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the existence and nature of a second organizing principle in the motor cortex beyond the traditional body map.
To explore the concept of an 'action map' based on ethologically relevant behaviors.

Main Methods:

Review and synthesis of existing neuroscience research.
Analysis of experimental findings from studies on primates, mice, and rats.
Examination of data from cortical stimulation experiments.

Main Results:

Evidence supports the existence of functional zones within the motor cortex, organized by behavioral categories (action map).
These zones emphasize ethologically relevant behaviors, with some complex actions inducible via cortical stimulation.
Findings have been confirmed and extended across multiple species, including primates, mice, and rats.

Conclusions:

The motor cortex is organized by both a body plan and an ethological action map.
The action map provides a crucial framework for understanding how the motor cortex controls complex, behaviorally relevant actions.
Growing evidence validates the ethological action map concept, advancing our understanding of motor control.