Temporal lobe
| Brain: Temporal lobe |
Temporal lobe
Parietal lobe
Occipital
lobe
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| Lobes of the human brain |
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| Section of brain showing upper surface of temporal lobe. |
| Latin |
lobus temporalis |
| Gray's |
subject #189 823 |
| Part of |
Brain |
| Artery |
Middle cerebral and
Posterior cerebral |
| NeuroNames |
hier-107 |
| MeSH |
Temporal+Lobe |
| NeuroLex ID |
birnlex_1160 |
The temporal lobe is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located beneath the Sylvian fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain.
The temporal lobe is involved in auditory perception and is home to the primary auditory cortex. It is also important for the processing of semantics in both speech and vision. The temporal lobe contains the hippocampus and plays a key role in the formation of long-term memory.
Animation. Temporal lobes.
The superior temporal gyrus includes an area (within the Sylvian fissure) where auditory signals from the cochlea (relayed via several subcortical nuclei) first reach the cerebral cortex. This part of the cortex (primary auditory cortex) is involved in hearing. Adjacent areas in the superior, posterior and lateral parts of the temporal lobes are involved in high-level auditory processing. In humans this includes speech, for which the left temporal lobe in particular seems to be specialized. Wernicke's area, which spans the region between temporal and parietal lobes, plays a key role (in tandem with Broca's area, which is in the frontal lobe). The functions of the left temporal lobe are not limited to low-level perception but extend to comprehension, naming, verbal memory and other language functions.
The underside (ventral) part of the temporal cortices appear to be involved in high-level visual processing of complex stimuli such as faces (fusiform gyrus) and scenes (parahippocampal gyrus). Anterior parts of this ventral stream for visual processing are involved in object perception and recognition.
The medial temporal lobes (near the Sagittal plane that divides left and right cerebral hemispheres) are thought to be involved in episodic/declarative memory. Deep inside the medial temporal lobes lie the hippocampi, which are essential for memory function - particularly the transference from short to long term memory and control of spatial memory and behavior. Damage to this area typically results in anterograde amnesia.
See also
- Lobe (anatomy)
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
References
External links
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Human brain: forebrain (cerebrum · cerebral cortex · cerebral hemispheres, grey matter) (TA A14.1.09.002–240, 301–320, GA 9.818–826) |
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| Frontal lobe |
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Superolateral
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Prefrontal
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Superior frontal gyrus (4l, 6l, 8l) · Middle frontal gyrus (9l, 10l, 46)
Inferior frontal gyrus: 11l · 47-Pars orbitalis · Broca's area (44-Pars opercularis, 45-Pars triangularis)
Superior frontal sulcus · Inferior frontal sulcus
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Precentral
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Precentral gyrus · Precentral sulcus
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Medial/inferior
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Prefrontal
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Superior frontal gyrus (4m, 6m) · Medial frontal gyrus (8m, 9m)
Paraterminal gyrus/Paraolfactory area (12) · Straight gyrus (11m) · Orbital gyri/Orbitofrontal cortex (10m, 11m, 12) · Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (10m) · Subcallosal area (25)
Olfactory sulcus · Orbital sulci
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Precentral
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Paracentral lobule (4) · Paracentral sulcus
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Both
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Primary motor cortex (4) · Premotor cortex (6) · Supplementary motor area (6) · Frontal eye fields (8)
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| Parietal lobe |
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Superolateral
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Superior parietal lobule (5l, 7l) · Inferior parietal lobule (40-Supramarginal gyrus, 39-Angular gyrus) · Parietal operculum (43)
Intraparietal sulcus
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Medial/inferior
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Paracentral lobule (1m, 2m, 3m, 5m) · Precuneus (7m)
Marginal sulcus
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Both
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Postcentral gyrus/primary somatosensory cortex (1 · 2 · 3) · Secondary somatosensory cortex (5) · Posterior parietal cortex (7)
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| Occipital lobe |
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Superolateral
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Occipital pole of cerebrum · Lateral occipital gyrus (18, 19) · Lunate sulcus · Transverse occipital sulcus
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Medial/inferior
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Primary visual cortex (17) · Cuneus · Lingual gyrus
Calcarine fissure
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| Temporal lobe |
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Superolateral
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Transverse temporal gyrus/Primary auditory cortex (41, 42) · Superior temporal gyrus (38, 22/Wernicke's area) · Middle temporal gyrus (21) · Inferior temporal gyrus (20)
Superior temporal sulcus · Inferior temporal sulcus
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Medial/inferior
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Interlobar
sulci/fissures |
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Superolateral
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Central (frontal+parietal) · Lateral (frontal+parietal+temporal) · Parieto-occipital · Preoccipital notch
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Medial/inferior
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Medial longitudinal · Cingulate (frontal+cingulate) · Collateral (temporal+occipital) · Callosal sulcus
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| Limbic lobe |
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Parahippocampal gyrus
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anterior (Entorhinal cortex, Perirhinal cortex) · Posterior parahippocampal gyrus · Prepyriform area
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Cingulate cortex/gyrus
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Subgenual area (25) · Anterior cingulate (24, 32, 33) · Posterior cingulate (23, 31)
Isthmus of cingulate gyrus: Retrosplenial cortex (26, 29, 30)
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Hippocampal formation
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Hippocampal sulcus · Fimbria of hippocampus · Dentate gyrus · Rhinal sulcus
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Other
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Supracallosal gyrus · Uncus
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| Insular lobe |
Long gyrus of insula · Short gyri of insula · Circular sulcus of insula
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| General |
Operculum · Poles of cerebral hemispheres
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Some categorizations are approximations, and some Brodmann areas span gyri.
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anat(s,m,p,,e,b,d,c,,f,,g)/phys/devp/cell
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noco(m,d,e,h,v,s)/cong/tumr,sysi/,injr
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proc,drug(N1A/2AB/C/3/4/7A/B//)
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