Movement DisordersPub Date : 2026-06-26Epub Date: 2026-03-05DOI: 10.1002/mds.70259
Arjun Balachandar MD, Alvaro Hernandez-Guillen MD, Nico U.F. Dosenbach MD, PhD, Anthony E. Lang MD, Christos Ganos MD
{"title":"Beyond the Homunculus—SCAN-AMN as a Shared Action-Oriented Neural Substrate across Movement Disorders","authors":"Arjun Balachandar MD, Alvaro Hernandez-Guillen MD, Nico U.F. Dosenbach MD, PhD, Anthony E. Lang MD, Christos Ganos MD","doi":"10.1002/mds.70259","DOIUrl":"10.1002/mds.70259","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Movement disorders (MDs) present with strikingly distinct somatotopy and phenomenology. Some predominantly affect distal musculature, such as limb-onset tremor or cortical myoclonus,<span><sup>1</sup></span> while others involve proximal or axial segments, such as craniocervical dystonia, akathisia, or restless legs syndrome (RLS). Certain MDs are accompanied by premonitory urges and partial volitional control—as in tics—whereas others lack such sensations entirely, like myoclonus. Despite decades of research into motor control, we lack a coherent, mechanistic framework explaining why different disorders show reproducible body-part selectivity while some are embedded in urge-related and action-monitoring experiences.</p><p>The motor homunculus established by Penfield has long structured understanding of motor control.<span><sup>2</sup></span> This has informed studies on MDs with a corresponding somatotopic organization like cortical myoclonus, where face and hands are commonly affected.<span><sup>1</sup></span> However, recent precision functional mapping studies provided a more granular view of the homunculus, possibly informing cardinal features of several MDs. Gordon et al<span><sup>3</sup></span> proposed an integrate-isolate model with two principal interconnected control systems governing movement: one mapping specific muscles or joints through “effector” primary motor cortex (M1) regions and another connecting to broader cognitive-motivational systems to incorporate movements into purposeful, goal-driven behavior with “inter-effector” M1 regions.<span><sup>3</sup></span> This integrative action control system comprising the “somato-cognitive action network” (SCAN)—and the overarching action-mode network (AMN)<span><sup>4</sup></span>—underlies the coordination of whole-body axial-driven movements. Here, drawing on foundational and recent evidence, we argue that abnormal SCAN-AMN engagement underlies gross motor, axial-predominant symptoms across multiple MDs, informing neuromodulation targets.</p><p>The classic M1 homunculus depicts a distorted yet topographically organized representation, with disproportionately large areas including the hands, face, and mouth.<span><sup>2</sup></span> This somatotopy extends to subcortical structures, with striatal activity topographically reflecting deep-layer cortical activity.<span><sup>5</sup></span> Although of relevance to distal limb movements in both normal actions and disorders, like cortical myoclonus,<span><sup>1</sup></span> this effector-centric model presents limitations in explaining the overarching coordination of movements or when motor output is linked to internal states—such as premonitory urges or interoceptive discomfort—which often manifest with a predilection for proximal regions of the body. Moreover, urge-related disorders like tics, akathisia, and RLS commonly involve regions like the neck, shoulders, trunk, and lower limbs—less emphasized in classical models.</p><p>Within t","PeriodicalId":213,"journal":{"name":"Movement Disorders","volume":"41 6","pages":"1349-1354"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/mds.70259","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}