How Somatotopic is the Motor Cortex Hand Area?

The primary motor cortex (M1) is thought to control movements of different body parts from somatotopically organized cortical territories. Electrical stimulation suggests, however, that territories controlling different fingers overlap. Such overlap might be artifactual or else might indicate that a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1993-07, Vol.261 (5120), p.489-492
Main Authors: Schieber, Marc H., Hibbard, Lyndon S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain Mapping
Centroids
Fingers
Fingers - innervation
Fingers - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hand - innervation
Hands
Localization (Brain function)
Localization of functions
Macaca mulatta
Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration
Motor cortex
Motor Cortex - cytology
Motor Cortex - physiology
Movement
Neurology
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Neuroscience
Population distributions
Thumb
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Wrist
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The primary motor cortex (M1) is thought to control movements of different body parts from somatotopically organized cortical territories. Electrical stimulation suggests, however, that territories controlling different fingers overlap. Such overlap might be artifactual or else might indicate that activation of M1 to produce a finger movement occurs over a more widespread cortical area than usually assumed. These possibilities were distinguished in monkeys moving different fingers. Recordings showed that single M1 neurons were active with movements of different fingers. Neuronal populations active with movements of different fingers overlapped extensively. Control of any finger movement thus appears to utilize a population of neurons distributed throughout the M1 hand area rather than a somatotopically segregated population.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.8332915