Functional panellation of frontal higher order motor Cortex

Motor areas in the frontal cortex are classified into medial and lateral functional groups. The dorsal premotor areas in the lateral groups are involved in motor guidance based on behavioral rules. The ventral premotor cortex contributes to motor guidance relying on spatial aspects of sensory information. The supplementary motor complex in the medial groups is related to the bimanual and temporal organization of multiple motor acts. The cingulate motor area is involved in motor control based on reward-prediction errors. The supplementary eye field is involved in monitoring performance and the adjustment of sequential visual search. The motor areas are coordinated in a context-dependent manner, influenced by top-down signals from the prefrontal cortex and by bottom-up signals from the parietal cortex, which are also organized into the lateral and medial functional groups. Evidence suggests that the medial and lateral functional groups are balanced by the insula cortex and anterior cingulate cortex which serve as salience detectors for changes in bodily states.