Kurata K
Hokkaido Igaku Zasshi. 1984 Jul;59(4):425-38.
The aim of this study is, first, to examine the existence of topographical organizations in the premotor cortex in monkeys trained rigorously to move his proximal and distal forelimb separately. The second aim is to observe premotor cortex neuronal activity in association with simple movement triggered by sensory signals of three different modalities (visual, auditory, and somatosensory). Premotor cortex was defined as the lateral part of frontal agranular cortex where intracortical microstimulation could not evoke muscle contraction at intensity below 50 microA. Neurons related to the distal forelimb movement formed three foci in the premotor cortex. Neurons related to the proximal forelimb movement distributed widely in the premotor cortex without forming any distinct focus. Movement-related premotor neurons showed less modulation of discharge frequency in association to the movement than motor cortex neurons, and some of them responded selectively to one or two sensory signals triggering the movement. These results suggests that premotor cortex contributes less directly to the execution of simple movements, but may play an important role in controlling or organizing complex movements.
本研究的目的，首先是检查在经过严格训练能分别移动其近端和远端前肢的猴子的运动前区皮质中是否存在拓扑组织。第二个目的是观察与由三种不同模态（视觉、听觉和体感）的感觉信号触发的简单运动相关的运动前区皮质神经元活动。运动前区皮质被定义为额叶无颗粒皮质的外侧部分，在强度低于50微安时，皮质内微刺激不能引起肌肉收缩。与远端前肢运动相关的神经元在运动前区皮质中形成三个焦点。与近端前肢运动相关的神经元广泛分布于运动前区皮质，未形成任何明显的焦点。与运动相关的运动前神经元与运动皮质神经元相比，其放电频率与运动相关的调制较少，其中一些神经元对触发运动的一种或两种感觉信号有选择性反应。这些结果表明，运动前区皮质对简单运动的执行贡献较小，但可能在控制或组织复杂运动中起重要作用。
