Scientists discover new brain area involved in movement

In a new study, Mayo Clinic scientists and their international collaborators discover a new brain area involved in movement.

It’s long been accepted that the part of the brain called the primary motor cortex controls body movements. Certain groups of cells direct specific movements — for example, of the feet, hands or tongue. The cells of the primary motor cortex are organized as a type of topographical map of corresponding body parts in the central sulcus, a fold in the brain’s outermost layer called the cerebral cortex.

The researchers were surprised to find that this understanding was incomplete. They discovered this map extends from the brain’s surface deep into the central sulcus but is disrupted by an active area for all movements. Areas with this pattern of activity are typically called association areas and previously had been thought to be absent within the fold of the central sulcus. Their findings are reported here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01346-z