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’ 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.

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 ...

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 idea of the homunculus dates to the late nineteenth century, when researchers noticed that electrically stimulating the primary motor cortex corresponded to specific body parts twitching.

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 homunculus that we know today was developed based on electrical stimulation of different parts of the cortex in more than 400 people undergoing brain surgery for epilepsy or to remove a tumor.

While some regions of the motor cortex were activated when participants moved just one body part, a finding that suggests they’re directly linked to that movement or body part, these strange cortical ...

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 ...

If you are a ballet dancer or gymnast, a watch-maker or surgeon, your brain connections in the motor system will differ depending on your skills for fine movements in different parts of your body.