Somatotopic organization of the medial wall of the cerebral hemispheres: a 3 Tesla fMRI study

Neuroreport. 2001 Dec 4;12(17):3811-4. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200112040-00042.

Abstract

Somatotopic organization of the human medial wall of the cerebral hemispheres was studied using functional MRI conducted at high field strength (3 T) with fine spatial resolution ( approximately 2 mm). Healthy subjects performed paced, repetitive movements of the fingers and toes. Within the supplementary motor area (SMA), two regions were identified: finger movements activated a region rostral and superior to that for toe movements. Two activation foci were also identified in the cingulate motor area: toe movements activated a region rostral and ventral to that activated by finger movements. All foci were located between the anterior and posterior commissures. Our results confirm previous human and non-human primate studies regarding the rostral-caudal organization of the SMA and CMA. The dorsal-ventral organization of the CMA, however, appears to be divergent from results derived from cortical stimulation studies conducted in non-human primates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brain Mapping*
  • Female
  • Fingers / innervation*
  • Fingers / physiology
  • Gyrus Cinguli / anatomy & histology*
  • Gyrus Cinguli / physiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Motor Cortex / anatomy & histology*
  • Motor Cortex / physiology
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Toes / innervation*
  • Toes / physiology