Premotor cortex: sensory cues and movement

There are suggestions that premotor cortex might play a role either in the execution of axial and proximal movements or in the sensory guidance of movement. Monkeys with bilateral premotor lesions were therefore studied on a series of behavioural tests; the tasks differed either in the movements to be performed or in the nature of the sensory cues that guided the animals. It was found that the success or failure of the monkeys depended on the way in which they received instructions as to what to do. These results are consistent with the view that premotor cortex is involved in the direction of movement but not in its execution.