Mendoza Germán, Merchant Hugo
Instituto de Neurobiología, UNAM, Campus Juriquilla, Mexico.
Prog Neurobiol. 2014 Nov;122:73-93. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2014.09.001. Epub 2014 Sep 16.
In human and nonhuman primates, the cortical motor system comprises a collection of brain areas primarily related to motor control. Existing evidence suggests that no other mammalian group has the number, extension, and complexity of motor-related areas observed in the frontal lobe of primates. Such diversity is probably related to the wide behavioral flexibility that primates display. Indeed, recent comparative anatomical, psychophysical, and neurophysiological studies suggest that the evolution of the motor cortical areas closely correlates with the emergence of high cognitive abilities. Advances in understanding the cortical motor system have shown that these areas are also related to functions previously linked to higher-order associative areas. In addition, experimental observations have shown that the classical distinction between perceptual and motor functions is not strictly followed across cortical areas. In this paper, we review evidence suggesting that evolution of the motor system had a role in the shaping of different cognitive functions in primates. We argue that the increase in the complexity of the motor system has contributed to the emergence of new abilities observed in human and nonhuman primates, including the recognition and imitation of the actions of others, speech perception and production, and the execution and appreciation of the rhythmic structure of music.
在人类和非人类灵长类动物中，皮质运动系统由一组主要与运动控制相关的脑区组成。现有证据表明，没有其他哺乳动物群体具有在灵长类动物额叶中观察到的与运动相关区域的数量、范围和复杂性。这种多样性可能与灵长类动物表现出的广泛行为灵活性有关。事实上，最近的比较解剖学、心理物理学和神经生理学研究表明，运动皮质区域的进化与高认知能力的出现密切相关。对皮质运动系统理解的进展表明，这些区域也与先前与高阶联合区域相关的功能有关。此外，实验观察表明，跨皮质区域并未严格遵循感知功能和运动功能之间的经典区分。在本文中，我们综述了证据，表明运动系统的进化在灵长类动物不同认知功能的形成中发挥了作用。我们认为，运动系统复杂性的增加促成了在人类和非人类灵长类动物中观察到的新能力的出现，包括对他人动作的识别和模仿、言语感知和产生，以及对音乐节奏结构的执行和欣赏。
