Drawing is a multi-component process requiring a wide range of cognitive abilities. Several studies on patients with focal brain lesions and functional neuroimaging studies on healthy individuals demonstrated that drawing is associated with a wide brain network. However, the neural structures specifically related to drawing remain to be better comprehended. We conducted a systematic review complemented by a meta-analytic approach to identify the core neural underpinnings related to drawing in healthy individuals. In analysing the selected studies, we took into account the type of the control task employed (i.e. motor or non-motor) and the type of drawn stimulus (i.e. geometric, figurative, or nonsense). The results showed that a fronto-parietal network, particularly on the left side of the brain, was involved in drawing when compared with other motor activities. Drawing figurative images additionally activated the inferior frontal gyrus and the inferior temporal cortex, brain areas involved in selection of semantic features of objects and in visual semantic processing. Moreover, copying more than drawing from memory was associated with the activation of extrastriate cortex (BA 18, 19). The activation likelihood estimation coordinate-based meta-analysis revealed a core neural network specifically associated with drawing which included the premotor area (BA 6) and the inferior parietal lobe (BA 40) bilaterally, and the left precuneus (BA 7).

These results showed that a fronto-parietal network is specifically involved in drawing and suggested that a crucial role is played by the (left) inferior parietal lobe, consistent with classical literature on constructional apraxia.

绘图是一个多组成部分的过程，需要广泛的认知能力。几项针对局灶性脑损伤患者的研究和针对健康个体的功能性神经影像学研究表明，绘画与广泛的大脑网络有关。然而，与绘画特别相关的神经结构仍有待更好地理解。我们进行了系统评价，并辅以元分析方法，以确定与健康个体绘图相关的核心神经基础。在分析选定的研究时，我们考虑了所采用的控制任务的类型（即运动或非运动）和所绘制刺激的类型（即几何、比喻或无意义的）。结果表明，额顶叶网络，特别是在大脑左侧，与其他运动活动相比，他参与了绘画。绘制具象图像还激活了额下回和颞下皮层，这些大脑区域涉及对象语义特征的选择和视觉语义处理。此外，复制比从记忆中绘图更多与纹状体外皮层的激活有关（BA 18, 19）。基于激活似然估计坐标的荟萃分析揭示了一个与绘图特别相关的核心神经网络，其中包括双侧运动前区（BA 6）和下顶叶（BA 40），以及左楔前叶（BA 7）。涉及对象语义特征选择和视觉语义处理的大脑区域。此外，复制比从记忆中绘图更多与纹状体外皮层的激活有关（BA 18, 19）。基于激活似然估计坐标的荟萃分析揭示了一个与绘图特别相关的核心神经网络，其中包括双侧运动前区（BA 6）和下顶叶（BA 40），以及左楔前叶（BA 7）。涉及对象语义特征选择和视觉语义处理的大脑区域。此外，复制比从记忆中绘图更多与纹状体外皮层的激活有关（BA 18, 19）。基于激活似然估计坐标的荟萃分析揭示了一个与绘图特别相关的核心神经网络，其中包括双侧运动前区（BA 6）和下顶叶（BA 40），以及左楔前叶（BA 7）。

这些结果表明，额顶网络特别参与绘画，并表明（左）下顶叶发挥了关键作用，这与关于构造性失用症的经典文献一致。