Premotor cortex and the retrieval of movement
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 22, 2026

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice
Published on: March 4, 2014
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Abstract:
It is argued that the premotor cortex plays a crucial role in the retrieval of movement. Monkeys with bilateral lesions in premotor cortex were found to be impaired at selecting between two movements on the basis of visual cues. This was true whether the visual cue was present at the time of response or was no longer visible. Yet other monkeys with bilateral lesions in dorsal premotor cortex had little difficulty in remembering a movement if they had just been forced to make it a few seconds earlier. It is suggested that the premotor cortex is involved in the process of translation from a visual or auditory cue to an associated movement.
Related Concept Videos
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.
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...
Indirect Motor Pathways
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

