Structure of the human sensorimotor system. I: Morphology and cytoarchitecture of the central sulcus.
We have studied the morphology of the central sulcus and the cytoarchitecture of the primary sensorimotor cortex in 20 human brains obtained at autopsy. Although the surface appearance of the central sulcus varies greatly from brain to brain (and between hemispheres of individual brains), its deep structure is remarkably consistent. The fundus of the central sulcus is divided into medial and lateral limbs by a complex junction midway between the sagittal and Sylvian fissures. Based on functional imaging studies, this junction appears to be a structural hallmark of the sensorimotor representation of the distal upper extremity. We also identified and measured area 4 (primary motor cortex) and area 3 (primary somatic sensory cortex) in Nissl-stained sections cut orthogonal to the course of the central sulcus. Although the positions of the cytoarchitectonic boundaries in the paracentral lobule showed considerable interindividual variation, the locations of the borders of areas 4 and 3 along the course of the sulcus were similar among the 40 hemispheres examined. In addition to describing more thoroughly this portion of the human cerebral cortex, these observations provide a basis for evaluating lateral symmetry of the human primary sensorimotor cortex.
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Related Subject Headings
- Somatosensory Cortex
- Humans
- Functional Laterality
- Experimental Psychology
- Cerebral Cortex
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 3209 Neurosciences
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Somatosensory Cortex
- Humans
- Functional Laterality
- Experimental Psychology
- Cerebral Cortex
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 3209 Neurosciences
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology