Since the 1930s, the so-called homunculus map has shown how different parts of the brain's motor cortex may control movement to different parts of the body. But it may be missing an important ...

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).

The motor cortex homunculus is getting a makeover. New research has essentially redrawn the motor cortex and constitutes one of the most substantial shifts in our topographical knowledge of a sensory ...

The homunculus map of the primary motor cortex (left), compared to the updated map (right). The new map includes regions that control whole-body movements. Gordon, et al. via Nature under CC BY 4.0 ...

The homunculus’ hand showed the expected connections to the hand region in the other half of the brain, as did the relevant areas of the motor cortex that control movement of the foot and mouth.

But a study published in Nature 1 on 19 April reveals that this brain strip, called the primary motor cortex, is much more complex than the famous diagram suggests.

Planning, cognition, and conscious initiation of movements happen elsewhere in the brain; the motor cortex just receives these signals, relaying them directly to muscles. The motor cortex is organized ...

As a result, the motor cortex can be thought of as a continuous map of the regions that it controls, often illustrated as a homunculus (shown to the left of the motor cortex). b , Gordon et al. 1 ...

Scientists’ understanding of the organization of the human motor cortex – the parts of the brain that allow us to plan, execute, and control movements – hasn’t changed much since the ...

Study: A somato-cognitive action network alternates with effector regions in motor cortex. Image Credit: r.classen/Shutterstock.com. Background. The human motor cortex was initially described as a ...

Cerebral Cortex Damage. Damage to any region of the cerebral cortex is typically caused by tumors, autoimmune diseases, bleeding in your brain, or a stroke.Symptoms of possible damage depend on ...

New data shows that an old model of the brain's motor cortex is incomplete Scientists found evidence of two interleaved systems, which may help explain the connection between what's going on in ...