Lab 5 (ƒ8) - Higher Motor Function
Motor Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
A number of cerebral cortical areas are closely involved with the initiation and descending control of voluntary movement. Some cortical areas influence brainstem or spinal cord motor neurons directly or indirectly through interneurons. Other cortical areas influence the activity of "motor cortical areas" or the activity of nuclei which send their axons to motor neurons (e.g., the red nucleus). As a general rule, cortical areas represent the contralateral side of the body or face. Consequently, electrical stimulation of the left motor cortex will produce movement on the right side of the body, and vice versa.
