Synonyms
Motor strip; Primary motor area
Definition
Located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex, the precentral gyrus is a vertically oriented, cerebral convolution located immediately anterior to, and running parallel with, the central sulcus. The precentral gyrus is the primary somatomotor motor cortex and sends efferent axons in the corticospinal tract to terminate on cranial and spinal motor neurons. The body is somatotopically represented on the gyrus in an inverted pattern with regions controlling the head located in the lower portions. Lesions in the precentral gyrus may result in weakness or paralysis in the corresponding region of the body.
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Bigbee, J. (2018). Precentral Gyrus. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_354
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_354
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
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