The anterior midcingulate cortex might be a neuronal substrate for the ideomotor mechanism
Michelet T(1), Badets A(2).
Author information:
(1)CNRS, EPHE, INCIA, UMR 5287, University of Bordeaux, 33000, Bordeaux, France. .
(2)CNRS, EPHE, INCIA, UMR 5287, University of Bordeaux, 33000, Bordeaux, France.
The way the brain controls voluntary movements for normal and pathological
subject remains puzzling. In this selective review, we provide unreported
harmonies between the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) activities and the
ideomotor mechanism postulating that voluntary movements are controlled by the
anticipation of the expected perceptual consequences of an action, critically
involving bidirectional interplay of a given motor activity and corresponding
sensory feedback. Among other evidence, we found that the required asymmetry in
the bidirectional interplay between a given motor command and its expected
sensory effect could rely on the specific activity of aMCC neurons when observing
errors and successes. We confirm this hypothesis by presenting a pathological
perspective, studying obsessive-compulsive and other related disorders in which
hyperactivated and uniform aMCC activities should lead to a circular-reflex
process that results in persistent ideas and repeated actions. By evaluating
normal and pathological data, we propose considering the aMCC at a central
position within the cerebral network involved in the ideomotor mechanism.