Beyond grasping: Representation of action in human anterior intraparietal sulcus

The fronto-parietal network has been implicated in the processing of multisensory information for motor control. Recent methodological advances with both fMRI and TMS provide the opportunity to dissect the functionality of this extensive network in humans and may identify distinct contributions of local neural populations within this circuit that are not only related to motor planning, but to goal oriented behavior as a whole. Herein, we review and make parallels between experiments in monkeys and humans on a broad array of motor as well as non-motor tasks in order to characterize the specific contribution of a region in the parietal lobe, the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS). The intent of this article is to review: (1) the historical perspectives on the parietal lobe, particularly the aIPS; (2) extend and update these perspectives based on recent empirical data; and (3) discuss the potential implications of the revised functionality of the aIPS in relationship to complex goal oriented behavior and social interaction. Our contention is that aIPS is a critical node within a network involved in the higher order dynamic control of action, including representation of intended action goals. These findings may be important not only for guiding the design of future experiments investigating related issues but may also have valuable utility in other fields, such social neuroscience and biomedical engineering.