The purpose of this project is to examine the internal organizations and the interrelationship among motor areas of the frontal lobe, including the primary motor cortex (MI), the supplementary motor cortex (SM), the frontal eye fields (FEF) and the premotor cortex (PM). The model species chosen for study is the rhesus monkey, because these motor areas have been best characterized in this species. In the first part of this project intracortical microstimulation is being employed to examine the efferent topography of the motor areas. In the second part of the project single-unit recording will be employed to examine the possible involvement of the premotor cortex in learning new stimulus-response relationships. It is the goal of this part of the project to determine the roles played by each cortical motor area in recall and execution of learned motor behaviors.
