Brain: Pars opercularis
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Lateral surface of left cerebral hemisphere, viewed from the side. (Pars opercularis visible near center).
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Brodmann area 44
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Latin
| pars opercularis gyri frontalis inferioris
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Part of
| Inferior frontal gyrus Broca's area
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Artery
| Middle cerebral
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Acronym(s)
| OpIFG
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NeuroNames
| hier-69
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Dorlands/Elsevier
| p_07/12617331
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Pars opercularis (literally "the part that covers") is the part of the inferior frontal gyrus that lies between the inferior precentral sulcus and the ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus. It is called opercularis because it covers part of the insula. The pars opercularis together with the pars triangularis form Broca's area.
Additional recommended knowledge
Relationship to autism
Abnormal blood flow in the Pars opercularis has been shown to be an indicator for autism. Previous theories had tied autism to abnormalities in the cerebellum, due to the fascination with spinning exhibited by autistic children. 1
- "Neuroscientist Mirella Dapretto of the University of California Los Angeles and her colleagues surveyed the brains of 10 autistic children and an equal number of nonautistic children as they watched and imitated 80 different faces displaying either anger, fear, happiness, sadness or no emotion. By measuring the amount of blood flow (Blood-oxygen-level dependent) to certain regions of the children's brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, the researchers could determine what parts of the brain were being used as the subjects completed the tasks. The autistic children differed from their peers in only one respect: each showed reduced activity in the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus--a brain region located near the temple." 2
See also
Brain: telencephalon (cerebrum, cerebral cortex, cerebral hemispheres) |
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Primary sulci/fissures | Medial longitudinal, Lateral, Central, Parietoöccipital, Calcarine, Cingulate, Callosal Collateral fissure |
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Frontal lobe | Precentral gyrus (Primary motor cortex, 4), Precentral sulcus, Superior frontal gyrus/Frontal eye fields (6, 8, 9), Middle frontal gyrus (46), Inferior frontal gyrus (44-Pars opercularis, 45-Pars triangularis), Orbitofrontal cortex (10, 11, 12, 47) |
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Parietal lobe | Somatosensory cortex (Primary (1, 2, 3, 43), Secondary (5)), Precuneus (7m), Parietal lobules (Arcuate fasciculus/Superior (7l), Inferior (40)), Angular gyrus (39), Intraparietal sulcus, Marginal sulcus |
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Occipital lobe | Primary visual cortex (17), Cuneus, Lingual gyrus, 18, 19 - Lateral occipital sulcus |
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Temporal lobe | Primary auditory cortex (41, 42), Superior temporal gyrus (38, 22), Middle temporal gyrus (21), Inferior temporal gyrus (20), Fusiform gyrus (37) Medial temporal lobe (Amygdala, Hippocampus, Parahippocampal gyrus (27, 28, 34, 35, 36) |
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Cingulate cortex/gyrus | Subgenual area (25), anterior cingulate (24, 32, 33), Posterior cingulate (23, 31), Retrosplenial cortex (26, 29, 30), Supracallosal gyrus |
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white matter tracts | Corpus callosum (Splenium, Genu, Rostrum, Tapetum), Septum pellucidum, Internal capsule, Corona radiata, External capsule, Olfactory tract, Fornix (Commissure of fornix), Anterior commissure, Posterior commissure Terminal stria Superior and Inferior longitudinal fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, cingulum, Inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus |
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Basal ganglia | Striatum (Putamen,Caudate nucleus, Nucleus accumbens), Globus pallidus, Claustrum, Subthalamic nucleus, Substantia nigra |
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Other | Insular cortex Olfactory bulb, Anterior olfactory nucleus Septal nuclei Basal optic nucleus of Meynert |
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Some categorizations are approximations, and some Brodmann areas span gyri. |
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