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Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
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...

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at...

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

Direct Motor Pathways

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
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...

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2025

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 23, 2020

Cortical Areas for Planning Sequences before and during Movement.

Giacomo Ariani^1,2, Mahdiyar Shahbazi¹, Jörn Diedrichsen^3,2,4

¹Western Institute for Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario N6A3K7, Canada.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|November 14, 2024

Summary

Movement planning involves preplanning and online planning, potentially using distinct brain regions. This study found that dorsal premotor cortex and superior parietal lobule are crucial for complex sequence preparation and execution.

Keywords:

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)hand control motor planning multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA)sequential movements

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Last Updated: Jun 7, 2025

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Published on: February 23, 2020

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

Rapid movement sequences require both preplanning (before movement) and online planning (during movement).
Understanding the distinct cortical areas involved in these planning phases is essential for motor control research.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare preplanning and online planning processes for rapid movement sequences.
To investigate whether these planning phases recruit different cortical areas.
To identify brain regions maintaining sequence-specific representations.

Main Methods:

Human participants performed single-finger and multifinger sequences in a delayed-movement paradigm.
7 Tesla functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
Multivariate analysis was employed to examine sequence-specific representations.

Main Results:

Primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) areas showed preactivation during preparation and temporal summation during production.
Dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and anterior superior parietal lobule (aSPL) were significantly more active during preparation and production of multifinger sequences.
Sequence-specific representations were found in PMd and aSPL, remaining stable across preparation and production phases.

Conclusions:

PMd and aSPL are critical for both pre- and online planning of complex movement sequences.
These regions maintain stable, sequence-specific representations, likely guiding motor execution.
While overlapping, distinct contributions of these areas to pre- and online planning may exist.