The Classic Map of How the Human Brain Manages Movement Gets an Update
upstart writes:
Three small regions unexpectedly connect to a network known for planning and pain perception:
The classical view of how the human brain controls voluntary movement might not tell the whole story.
That map of the primary motor cortex - the motor homunculus - shows how this brain region is divided into sections assigned to each body part that can be controlled voluntarily (SN: 6/16/15). It puts your toes next to your ankle, and your neck next to your thumb. The space each part takes up on the cortex is also proportional to how much control one has over that part. Each finger, for example, takes up more space than a whole thigh.
A new map reveals that in addition to having regions devoted to specific body parts, three newfound areas control integrative, whole-body actions. And representations of where specific body parts fall on this map are organized differently than previously thought, researchers report April 19 in Nature.
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