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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Stimulating the Lip Motor Cortex with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: June 14, 2014
More than Just a "Motor": Recent Surprises from the Frontal Cortex
Christian L Ebbesen1,2, Michele N Insanally3,2, Charles D Kopec4
1Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, christian.ebbesen@nyumc.org.
Abstract:
Motor and premotor cortices are crucial for the control of movements. However, we still know little about how these areas contribute to higher-order motor control, such as deciding which movements to make and when to make them. Here we focus on rodent studies and review recent findings, which suggest that-in addition to motor control-neurons in motor cortices play a role in sensory integration, behavioral strategizing, working memory, and decision-making. We suggest that these seemingly disparate functions may subserve an evolutionarily conserved role in sensorimotor cognition and that further study of rodent motor cortices could make a major contribution to our understanding of the evolution and function of the mammalian frontal cortex.
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