categorization of movements and neural representation of cognitive operations

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There are multiple motor areas and prefrontal areas in the frontal cortex. We trained monkeys to perform bimanual sequential tasks. We found that neuronal activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), pre-SMA and SMA were related to action (pronation or supination) or effector (right hand or left hand) and combination of these parameters. Some of these neurons were related to category of actions rather than particular movements. Although neurons representing each category of movemnts were frequently found in these areas, it is of interest that neuronal activity representing individual actions, abundant in medial premotor areas, was not common in the LPFC. Thus, we propose a trend in hierarchical organization of the frontal cortex with respect to the planning of sequential actions : a category of sequences in the LPFC, a sequence of actions in higher motor areas, and a plan of individual actions in the primary motor and premotor cortex. This functional difference implies the generation of neural representations to enable planning of structured event complexes at a conceptual level.