Functional brain mapping of monkey tool use.
When using a tool, we can perceive a psychological association between the tool and the body parts-the tool is incorporated into our "body-image." During tool use, visual response properties of bimodal (tactile and visual) neurons in the intraparietal area of the monkey's cerebral cortex were modified to include the hand-held tool. Visual properties of the monkey intraparietal neurons may represent the body-image in the brain. We explored tool use-induced activation within the intraparietal area and elsewhere in alert monkey brain using positron emission tomography (PET). Tool use-related activities compared with the control condition (simple-stick manipulation) revealed a significant increase in cerebral blood flow in the corresponding intraparietal region, basal ganglia, presupplementary motor area, premotor cortex, and cerebellum. These tool use-specific areas may participate in maintaining and updating the body-image for the precise guidance of a hand-held rake onto a distant reward.
Obayashi
S
S
Division of Advanced Technology for Medical Imaging, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, CREST (JST), Chiba 263-8555, Japan. ohbayash@nirs.go.jp
Suhara
T
T
Kawabe
K
K
Okauchi
T
T
Maeda
J
J
Akine
Y
Y
Onoe
H
H
Iriki
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed