Parietofrontal circuits for action and space perception in the macaque monkey

The classical view of the functional role of the posterior parietal cortex has been radically changed in recent years. The parietal lobe is formed by a multiplicity of functionally distinct areas strongly and reciprocally connected in a rather selective way with the various areas forming the agranular frontal cortex (motor cortex). These connections-parietofrontal circuits-mediate, in parallel, the sensorimotor transformation for the control of specific actions. According to this view, space coding is now believed to be the result of the construction of multiple space representations that may be related to a specific class of actions. Therefore, the concept of one single parietal master center for space perception is no more tenable. (C) 2001 Academic Press.