Sensory and motor areas in the cortex
The different areas and sections in the cortex
Central sulcus
Premotor cortex
Primary motor cortex
Correlation between the regions of cortex and each body part
Primary somatosensory cortex
Sensory and motor areas in the cortex
Different areas and sections in the cortex are associated with specific functions. Right on top and across the middle, there are two adjacent areas that have complementary functions: the motor cortex and the sensory cortex.
They rest either side of the central sulcus which is the transversal dividing line. Neurones in the motor cortex extend axons down the length of the spine and establish connections via the spine to muscles to create voluntary muscle contraction and movement. The motor cortex has further sub-areas such as the premotor cortex that deals with the activity preceding movement e.g. movement planning, and the primary motor cortex that deals with the signalling to muscles itself.