Nonprimary motor cortex is a functionally defined portion of the

frontal lobe The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a Sulcus (neur ...

. It includes two subdivisions, the

premotor cortex The premotor cortex is an area of the motor cortex lying within the frontal lobe of the brain just anterior to the primary motor cortex. It occupies part of Brodmann's area 6. It has been studied mainly in primates, including monkeys and human ...

and the supplementary motor cortex. Largely coincident with the cytoarchitecturally defined area 6 of Brodmann (human), it is located primarily in the rostral portion of the precentral gyrus and caudal portions of the superior frontal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus, It aids in cerebral control of movement. Anatomically speaking, several nonprimary areas exist, and make direct connections with the spinal cord.

Function

The nonprimary motor cortex exerts its motor control at a higher neural level than the primary motor cortex by commanding the laterality of muscular motor response to the brain. This is carried out by afferent nerves from the nonprimary motor cortex synapsing at the primary motor cortex. Both divisions of the nonprimary motor cortex receive inputs from the

thalamus The thalamus (: thalami; from Greek language, Greek Wikt:θάλαμος, θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter on the lateral wall of the third ventricle forming the wikt:dorsal, dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of ...

and are responsible for sensory guidance and motor preparation.

Supplementary Motor Cortex

The supplementary portion receives inputs from the thalamus. The thalamic nuclei supplying the supplementary motor cortex are distinct from those enervating the primary motor cortex. (Trends in Neurosciences) It is located above the cingulate sulcus inside the anterior paracentral lobule.

Premotor Cortex

Neural information to the premotor cortex is supplied by the

cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; Latin for 'little brain') is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as it or eve ...

. It is located dorsally in and around the precentral sulcus. Laterally, this exists at the dorso-ventral level of the hand in the motor cortex. A ventral region may also exist, but its exact anatomical location is disputed. Like the primary motor cortex, corticospinal tracts begin in the premotor area.

References

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External links

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BrainInfo
Cerebral cortex Frontal lobe