[Activation of supplementary motor areas during voluntary movements in man studied by measurement of focal cerebral blood flow (author's transl)].

Focal activation in the cerebral cortex during different motility and language tests in 52 patients examined by arteriography was studied by measuring focal cerebral blood flow (fCBF) by means of an apparatus of high resolution. A sterotactic or functional approach demonstrated that the upper premotor activation previously noted in certain types of movement, corresponds to supplementary motor area (SMA). A retrospective study of 157 maps of fCBF recorded during motor or verbal behaviour, compared to 90 recordings in subjects at rest, showed that SMA is involved in most voluntary movements, either verbal or non-verbal. An analysis of the results suggests that SMA acts during the establishment of new motor programs, and in the control of pre-established automatic activities, in response to internal and external stimuli.