Neuroimaging Evidence of the Anatomo-Functional Organization of the Human Cingulate Motor Areas

In the monkey, 3 motor areas have been identified in the cortex occupying the banks of the cingulate sulcus (cgs): A rostral cingulate motor area and 2 caudal cingulate motor areas, 1 located in the dorsal bank and the other in the ventral bank of the sulcus. The homologs of these 3 cingulate motor areas in the human brain are poorly understood. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined the anatomo-functional organization of the cingulate motor areas in the human brain. A subject by subject analysis revealed the existence of 3 motor areas along the cgs and these areas appear to be somatotopically organized. Importantly, these 3 motor areas relate to the specific morphological features of the cingulate/paracingulate cortex. These results demonstrate the location and organization of the 3 cingulate motor areas in the human brain and suggest a well-preserved organization of these motor areas from the monkey to the human brain.