Multi-modal Mapping of the human dorsal premotor cortex based on function and connectivity
Final Report Abstract
The dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) of the human brain is a transitional region between the cognitive and sensori-motor domains of the frontal cortex. It is implicates in a large range of behavioral functions. In particular, it plays a central role in the planning, preparation and execution of hand and eye movements. In addition, the PMd is also consistently engaged in (spatial) attention, inhibitory and short-term memory. This raised the question, how these different behavioral functions are organized within the region of the PMd. In this research project, we capitalized on innovative neuroinformatic techniques applied to big dataset of neuroimaging data (acquired using Magnetic Resonnance Imaging) for creating a new map of this region. Our results revealed similarities as well as divergences in the organization of the PMd between the two hemispheres. On both the right and the left side, we found that the superior part of the PMd could be subdivided into three subregions that were organized according to a cognitive-motor gradient. That is, the rostral region was relatively more engaged in high cognitive function such as short-term memory while the intermediate subregion was engaged in both cognitive and motor functions and, finally, the most posterior region was relatively more engaged in motor functions. In addition, in both hemispheres, we found a ventral (inferior) subregion, which was engaged in eye-movements and visual attention and thus called “premotor eye-field”. However, in the left hemisphere only, we found an additional, more anterior subregion in the ventral PMd that was related to abstract cognitive functions such as retrieval of memories, imagination of scenes and lying to deceive someone else (deception). We assumed that this new subregion, specific to the left hemisphere, is engaged in the mental process allowing humans to abstract from the current frame, be it temporal, spatial or broader contextual.
Publications
- (2017) The Right Dorsal Premotor Mosaic: Organization, Functions, and Connectivity. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) 27 (3) 2095–2110
Genon, Sarah; Li, Hai; Fan, Lingzhong; Müller, Veronika I.; Cieslik, Edna C.; Hoffstaedter, Felix; Reid, Andrew T.; Langner, Robert; Grefkes, Christian; Fox, Peter T.; Moebus, Susanne; Caspers, Svenja; Amunts, Katrin; Jiang, Tianzi; Eickhoff, Simon B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw065) - (2018) The heterogeneity of the left dorsal premotor cortex evidenced by multimodal connectivity-based parcellation and functional characterization. NeuroImage 170 400–411
Genon, Sarah; Reid, Andrew; Li, Hai; Fan, Lingzhong; Müller, Veronika I.; Cieslik, Edna C.; Hoffstaedter, Felix; Langner, Robert; Grefkes, Christian; Laird, Angela R.; Fox, Peter T.; Jiang, Tianzi; Amunts, Katrin; Eickhoff, Simon B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.02.034) - (2014, June). Examining the right dorsal premotor mosaic: a connectivity-based parcellation approach. 20th Annual Meeting of Organization of Human Brain Mapping, Hamburg, Germany
Genon, S. Müller, V., Cieslik, E., Hoffstaedter, E., Langner, R., Fox, P.T. & Eickhoff, S.
- (2015, June). Cross-modal identification of six subregions within the left PMd and their functional characterization. 21th Annual Meeting of Organization of Human Brain Mapping, Honolulu, Hawaii
Genon, S., Li, H., Fan, L.,Müller, V.I., Cieslik, E.C., Hoffstaedter, F., Reid, A.T., Langner, R., Grefkes, C., Fox, P.T., Jiang, T., Laird, A.R., Amunts, K., & Eickhoff, S. B.
- (2015, June). On the relationship between gray matter and behavioral data: lessons learned. 21th Annual Meeting of Organization of Human Brain Mapping, Honolulu, Hawaii
Genon, S., Wensing, T., Hoffstaedter, F., Reid, A., Caspers, S., Grefkes, C., Nickl- Jockschat, T., & Eickhoff, S.
- (2017, June). Profiling inferior left dorsal premotor cortex: when area 55b meets Premotor Eye-Field. 22th Annual Meeting of Organization of Human Brain Mapping, Vancouver, Canada
Genon, S., Reid, A., Langner, R., Laird, A., Fox, P. & Eickhoff, S.
