Neuromedia

The brain and motor skills

The  limbic system  (in close relationship with the cortex which is the part of the brain that stores our memories) is essential for memorization, learning and emotional behavior of the individual.

What about motor skills? 

Movement control involves a hierarchical and interrelated network comprising:

  1. the motor area of ​​the frontal lobe;
  2. the basal ganglia located inside the cerebral hemispheres;
  3. the brainstem;
  4. the cerebellum.

Profile of the right half of a human brain

Source: Douglas Mental Health University Institute (Montreal, Canada).

1. Motor area

2. The basal ganglia (invisible on the photo)

3. Brainstem

4. The cerebellum (from the Latin cerebellum meaning ‘little brain’)

This network (and in particular the basal ganglia) is involved not only in the control of motor skills but also in the learning and acquisition of motor skills: for example, kicking a ball, shifting gears, using a spoon, etc.

We will say that this network is involved in the functioning of the  so- called implicit  memory.

Implicit memory is opposed to explicit memory (or declarative memory) involving the limbic system and calling on particular events.

To summarize :
Implicit memory = “know-how motor”
memory Explicit memory = “intellectual know-how” memory

Unlike explicit memory, implicit memory is preserved during normal brain aging as well as in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

On the other hand, it is disturbed in certain diseases caused by the destruction of the central gray nuclei (such as Huntington’s disease or Parkinson’s disease).