Brodmann area

A Brodmann area is a region of the cerebral cortex, in the human or other primate brain, defined by its cytoarchitecture, or histological structure and organization of cells.

History

Brodmann areas were originally defined and numbered by the German anatomist Korbinian Brodmann based on the cytoarchitectural organization of neurons he observed in the cerebral cortex using the Nissl method of cell staining. Brodmann published his maps of cortical areas in humans, monkeys, and other species in 1909, along with many other findings and observations regarding the general cell types and laminar organization of the mammalian cortex. The same Brodmann area number in different species does not necessarily indicate homologous areas. A similar, but more detailed cortical map was published by Constantin von Economo and Georg N. Koskinas in 1925.

Present importance

Brodmann areas have been discussed, debated, refined, and renamed exhaustively for nearly a century and remain the most widely known and frequently cited cytoarchitectural organization of the human cortex.

Brodmann area 41 & 42

Brodmann area 41 is also known as the anterior transverse temporal area 41 (H). It is a subdivision of the cytoarchitectonically-defined region of cerebral cortex occupying the anterior transverse temporal gyrus (H) in the bank of the lateral sulcus on the dorsal surface of the temporal lobe. Brodmann area 41 is bounded medially by the parainsular area 52 (H) and laterally by the posterior transverse temporal area 42 (H) (Brodmann-1909).

Brodmann area 42 is also known as the posterior transverse temporal area 42 (H), and is also a subdivision of the temporal lobe. Brodmann area 42 is bounded medially by the anterior transverse temporal area 41 (H) and laterally by the superior temporal area 22 (Brodmann-1909).

Additional images

BA41.

BA41.

BA42

BA42

BA41. Inside lateral sulcus.

BA41. Inside lateral sulcus.

BA42. Inside lateral sulcus.

BA42. Inside lateral sulcus.

See also