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Abstract

This chapter focuses on a key characteristic of the somatosensory as well as the motor system, that is, its somatotopic organization. The good spatial resolution of functional MRI (fMRI) as compared to previous functional neuroimaging approaches such as positron emission tomography has allowed noninvasive studies at hitherto unknown spatio-anatomical precision. While early fMRI studies mostly were confirmatory of previously known features of sensorimotor organization, recent studies are shaping a new concept of cortical representations. Besides the somatotopic arrangement, they also take into account the pronounced overlap of body representations, that is, its network characters, particularly for functional units such as the hand. In addition to elucidating general features of sensorimotor neurophysiology, fMRI is ideally suited for identifying individual neuroplasticity. It allows to monitor the cerebral effects of learning processes, such as learning to play an instrument, but also the reaction to pathological events such as peripheral and central lesions to the nervous system.