Somatotopy of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles in the human sensorimotor cortex

The larynx is the major organ of vocalization. The intrinsic laryngeal muscles modify the internal shape of the larynx while the extrinsic laryngeal muscles move the entire larynx vertically in the airway. Previous neuroimaging research has established the somatotopic location of the intrinsic musculature of the larynx in the human motor cortex and showed it to be in an evolutionarily novel location compared to the homologous region in monkey …