Psychology Update — Scientists Update Map of How Our Brains Control Movement

Posted May 15th, 2023 by David Berg & filed under Brain Structure and Function, Introduction To Psychology, Nervous System, Psychology Update.

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Scientists Update Map of How Our Brains Control Movement

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WOW! This Smithsonian article describes new research that provides a better understanding of “how our brains control movement.” Chapters in biology and Psychology textbooks usually have a diagram of the homunculus map of the section of the brain that control various aspects of the body’s movement. Now there has been a new update close to 100 years later than the old brain map’s origins. “Within the brain’s frontal lobe lies the primary motor cortex, a sliver of neurons that coordinates movement. Beginning in the 1930s, scientists developed a map of this brain region called a homunculus map, depicting how different sections of the primary motor cortex controlled specific parts of the body.,, But now, in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers suggest the homunculus map is missing some key parts. Based on fMRI data, they argue the primary motor cortex also has distinct regions that play a role in whole-body action planning, rather than corresponding to a single body part.” The article provides diagrams of both the old and new homunculus maps. Why is this exciting and important? “A deeper understanding of the homunculus could help improve treatments for stroke- or injury-related damage to the primary motor cortex, Nature News reports. And the team wonders if the whole-body control areas could one day play a role in treating Parkinson’s disease, which has movement-related symptoms, per New Scientist.”