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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 27, 2009, 29(21):6926-6931; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1396-09.2009

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Brief Communications
Short-Latency Influence of Medial Frontal Cortex on Primary Motor Cortex during Action Selection under Conflict

Rogier B. Mars,1,2 Miriam C. Klein,1 Franz-Xaver Neubert,1 Etienne Olivier,3 Ethan R. Buch,1,4 Erie D. Boorman,1,2 and Matthew F. S. Rushworth1,2

1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UD, United Kingdom, 2Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom, 3Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium, and 4Human Cortical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1430

Correspondence should be addressed to Rogier B. Mars, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK. Email: rogier.mars{at}psy.ox.ac.uk

Medial frontal cortex (MFC) is crucial when actions have to be inhibited, reprogrammed, or selected under conflict, but the precise mechanism by which it operates is unclear. Importantly, how and when the MFC influences the primary motor cortex (M1) during action selection is unknown. Using paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation, we investigated functional connectivity between the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) part of MFC and M1. We found that functional connectivity increased in a manner dependent on cognitive context: pre-SMA facilitated the motor evoked-potential elicited by M1 stimulation only during action reprogramming, but not when otherwise identical actions were made in the absence of conflict. The effect was anatomically specific to pre-SMA; it was not seen when adjacent brain regions were stimulated. We discuss implications for the anatomical pathways mediating the observed effects.

Received March 24, 2008; accepted April 20, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Rogier B. Mars, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK. Email: rogier.mars{at}psy.ox.ac.uk






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