A parieto-premotor network for object manipulation: evidence from neuroimaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess cerebral ac tivation during manipulation of various complex meaningless objects as comp ared to manipulation of a single simple object (a sphere). Significant acti vation was found bilaterally in the ventral premotor cortex (Brodmann's are a 44), in the cortex lining the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus ( most probably corresponding to monkey anterior intraparietal area, AIP), in the superior parietal lobule and in the opercular parietal cortex includin g the secondary somatosensory area (SII). We suggest that the cortex lining the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus and area 44 are functionally connected and mediate object manipulation in humans.