Neural Representations of Intended Movement

Areas of the frontal and parietal lobes in primates have been shown to be involved in the formation of intentions, that is, early plans for movement that involve higher cognitive functions such as spatial perception, action planning, and decision making. Such areas also encode information about the body's state, that is, the position and configuration of the eyes, limbs, and other body parts. The manner in which intention- and state-related information interacts in limb movement-related areas of the frontal and parietal lobes appears to allow for maximum flexibility in the planning of eye and arm movements under constantly changing environmental conditions.