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. 2009 Jan 27;7(1):e19. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000019

Figure 1. A Motor Skill Memory Has Classically Been Split into Two Components.

Figure 1

One component encodes the spatial goal of the movement, and the other encodes the movements needed to achieve that goal [84–86]. For example, the goal of playing out a sequence of spatial positions—2-3-1—can be achieved by a sequence of finger movements. The goal of a motor skill is encoded within a circuit that includes the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and perhaps the mediotemporal lobe (MTL); whereas the movements associated with a skill are encoded within a circuit that includes the primary motor cortex (M1) and subcortical areas such as the striatum [12,13]. Other memories can be split into similar components. For example, navigating around a city relies upon learning the spatial location of landmarks plus learning the sequence of right-and-left turns needed to get to the landmark.