Neuroimaging Evidence of the Anatomo-Functional Organization of the Human Cingulate Motor Areas

• Published in: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 563 - 578
• Main Authors: Amiez, C., Petrides, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Brain Mapping; Female; Gyrus Cinguli - blood supply; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Motor Cortex - blood supply; Motor Cortex - physiology; Movement - physiology; Neural Pathways - blood supply; Oxygen - blood; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Young Adult; cingulate cortex; motor areas; human; functional magnetic resonance imaging
• ISSN: 1047-3211; 1460-2199; 1460-2199
• DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs329

In the monkey, 3 motor areas have been identified in the cortex occupying the banks of the cingulate sulcus (cgs): A rostral cingulate motor area and 2 caudal cingulate motor areas, 1 located in the dorsal bank and the other in the ventral bank of the sulcus. The homologs of these 3 cingulate motor areas in the human brain are poorly understood. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the anatomo-functional organization of the cingulate motor areas in the human brain. A subject by subject analysis revealed the existence of 3 motor areas along the cgs and these areas appear to be somatotopically organized. Importantly, these 3 motor areas relate to the specific morphological features of the cingulate/paracingulate cortex. These results demonstrate the location and organization of the 3 cingulate motor areas in the human brain and suggest a well-preserved organization of these motor areas from the monkey to the human brain.