which body part(s) occupy the greatest portion of the primary motor cortex
face the human hands
title: Primary motor cortex text: Primary motor cortex The primary motor cortex (Brodmann area 4) is a brain region that in humans is located in the dorsal portion of the frontal lobe. It is the primary region of the motor system and works in association with other motor areas including premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, posterior parietal cortex, and several subcortical brain regions, to plan and execute movements. Primary motor cortex is defined anatomically as the region of cortex that contains large neurons known as Betz cells. Betz cells, along with other cortical neurons, send long axons down the spinal cord to synapse onto title: Primary motor cortex text: Primary motor cortex The primary motor cortex (Brodmann area 4) is a brain region that in humans is located in the dorsal portion of the frontal lobe. It is the primary region of the motor system and works in association with other motor areas including premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, posterior parietal cortex, and several subcortical brain regions, to plan and execute movements. Primary motor cortex is defined anatomically as the region of cortex that contains large neurons known as Betz cells. Betz cells, along with other cortical neurons, send long axons down the spinal cord to synapse onto title: Primary motor cortex text: human primary motor cortex is located on the anterior wall of the central sulcus. It also extends anteriorly out of the sulcus partly onto the precentral gyrus. Anteriorly, the primary motor cortex is bordered by a set of areas that lie on the precentral gyrus and that are generally considered to compose the lateral premotor cortex. Posteriorly, the primary motor cortex is bordered by the primary somatosensory cortex, which lies on the posterior wall of the central sulcus. Ventrally the primary motor cortex is bordered by the insular cortex in the lateral sulcus. The primary motor cortex extends dorsally to title: Primary motor cortex text: elbow, wrist, fingers, thumb, eyelids, lips, and jaw. The arm and hand motor area is the largest, and occupies the part of precentral gyrus between the leg and face area. These areas are not proportional to their size in the body with the lips, face parts, and hands represented by particularly large areas. Following amputation or paralysis, motor areas can shift to adopt new parts of the body. The primary motor cortex receives thalamic inputs from different thalamic nuclei. Among others: - Ventral lateral nucleus for cerebellar afferents - Ventral anterior nucleus for basal ganglia afferents At least two modifications title: Primary motor cortex text: the interneuron circuitry of the spinal cord and also directly onto the alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord which connect to the muscles. At the primary motor cortex, motor representation is orderly arranged (in an inverted fashion) from the toe (at the top of the cerebral hemisphere) to mouth (at the bottom) along a fold in the cortex called the central sulcus. However, some body parts may be controlled by partially overlapping regions of cortex. Each cerebral hemisphere of the primary motor cortex only contains a motor representation of the opposite (contralateral) side of the body. The amount of