Abstract

Flexible goal-oriented behavior relies on spatial coordinate transformations and motor control mechanisms, but also on the capability to take advantage of contextual information for steer-ing the sensorimotor machinery. Although accurate perfor-mance of a sensorimotor task requires parietal and frontal regions, their differential contribution and functional relationship with other associative regions remains obscure. We have used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure human cerebral activity associated with motor cognitive processes in the context of delayed perfor-mance of an associative visuomotor task. Movement instruc-tion (specified by visual cues) and motor performance (speci-fied by an auditory cue) were separated by a variable delay period. By manipulating the predictive value of the instruction cue, we distinguished delay-related activity influenced by re-