It has been proposed that the premotor cortex plays a role in the selection of motor programs based on environmental context. To test this hypothesis, we recorded the activity of single neurons as monkeys learned visuomotor associations. The hypothesis predicts that task-related premotor cortical activity before learning should differ from that afterward. We found that a substantial population of premotor cortex neurons, over half of those adequately tested, showed the predicted learning-dependent changes in activity. The present findings support a role for premotor cortex in motor preparation, generally, and suggest a specific role in the selection of movements on the basis of arbitrary associations.

A study has been made of the corticocortical efferent and afferent connections of the posterior bank of the arcuate sulcus in the macaque monkey. The distribution of efferent projections to the primary motor cortex (MI) was studied by injecting three different fluorescent retrograde tracers into separate regions of MI. The resultant labeling showed a discrete and topographically organized projection: neurons lying below the inferior limb of the arcuate sulcus project into the MI face area, while neurons located in the posterior bank of the inferior limb of the arcuate sulcus and in the arcuate spur region project into the MI hand area. These findings were confirmed electrophysiologically by demonstrating that postarcuate neurons could only be activated antidromically by stimulation within restricted regions of MI. HRP injections within postarcuate cortex indicated that afferents to this region arise from a number of cortical areas. However, the largest numbers of labeled neurons were found in the posterior parietal cortex (area 7b; PF) and in the secondary somatosensory region (SII). Neurons in both 7b (PF) and SII could be antidromically activated by postarcuate stimulation. It was further shown that stimulation of area 7b (PF) gives rise to short-latency synaptic responses in postarcuate neurons, including some neurons with identified projections to MI. The results are discussed in relation to the possible function of the postarcuate region of the premotor cortex in the sensory guidance of movement.

We reinvestigated the organization of the premotor cortex (PM) using intracortical microstimulation. Movements of forelimb, hindlimb, and orofacial structures were evoked from broad regions of PM that appeared to be contiguous with other motor areas. There were two principal findings: (1) the somatotopy of PM lies roughly parallel to that of the primary motor cortex (MI). Forelimb movements were evoked from sites deep in the caudal bank of the arcuate sulcus and throughout the adjacent cortex bounded by a face representation (laterally) and a hindlimb representation (medially and caudally); (2) unlike the MI, the PM forelimb representation overlaps significantly with its own face representation. PM hindlimb movement sites overlap only slightly with PM forelimb sites, in a manner similar to the MI. There was no obvious boundary between PM, MI, or supplementary motor area hindlimb representations. The present findings are discussed in relation to recently identified subdivisions of the PM.

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Neuron activity was recorded in monkey cerebral cortex during a visually guided reaching task. Cells located in the banks of the arcuate sulcus at its curvature changed their activity during the period in which the monkey saw a food reward in a certain position, but before it moved to retrieve the reward. A role of these neurons in visual guidance of arm and hand movements is postulated.