Brodmann areas: characteristics and functions

The study of the brain has always been characterized by its enormous complexity. Even so, there have been great researchers who have helped us understand it more clearly. One of them was a German neurologist named Korbinian Brodmann, who divided the cerebral cortex into Brodmann’s areas.

Brodmann devoted himself primarily to the study of anatomy and psychiatry. In 1901, he began to focus on neurobiology and it was during this period that he gave birth to the famous map of the cerebral cortex that bears his name.

In this map of Brodmann’s areas we find a division of regions according to their function and location. Continue reading this article and learn more about these regions!

Brodmann areas: what do they consist of?

This map of the cerebral cortex was made by Brodmann around 1909. In it, differentiated 47 different areaseach of them composed of cytoarchitecture, blood flow, metabolism, and characteristic functions.

Broadman’s purpose was to create a topographical organization of the cortex based on anatomical and functional characteristics. To do this, he made spatial divisions of the cortex that, little by little, he experimentally correlated with the various cortical functions.

On these areas, discovered from his research in neuroanatomy, he used the Nissl staining method. Besides, these studies He not only performed them on humans, but also on monkeys.

Brodmann was not the only scientist to perform a division of the cerebral cortex: Constantin Von Economo and Georg N. Koskinas also did it and in even more detail. However, Brodmann’s cortical map has been the one that has had the greatest worldwide diffusion, which It is still used as a reference today..

Now, although it is currently known that there is no exact division of cortical areas and that there are interrelationships in the cerebral cortex and not independent functions by area, this map is still very useful.

motor areas

These are the regions that, in short, form the motor cortex. They are, therefore, a group of areas that are responsible for process information related to muscle movement.

They are related to the generation, coordination, maintenance and completion of movements. Within the motor cortex we can find different regions:

Primary motor area or Brodmann’s 4. This region is characterized by having a low excitation threshold. It is responsible for executing orders to initiate voluntary movements, which in general will be simple movements.Brodmann’s supplementary motor area or 6. It is characterized by having a high excitation threshold. It is responsible for coordinating the movements involved in the posture. In addition, it influences the organization of the movement sequences of the large muscle groups.Brodmann’s secondary motor area or 8. It is a premotor area and is responsible, together with area 6, for storing movement patterns from past experiences. It also deals with eye movement.Broca’s area or Brodmann’s 44 and 45. They are those that have to do with the movements necessary to produce language. That is: gesticulation, intonation, and semantic processing. Thus, they play a crucial role in the development and generation of spoken and written language.

Sensitive areas

They make up the somatosensory region and are responsible for the brain processing of sensory phenomena. (association and coordination of stimuli and comparison of previous stimuli with those that arrive from outside).

They process, among others, information that comes from the tactile system and information related to body position. We can find the following sensitive regions:

Primary somatoesthetic areas, or Brodmann’s 1, 2 and 3. They are located between the parietal gyrus and the posterior part of the central parietal lobe. They are the main areas responsible for touch and proprioception.Secondary somatoesthetic area, or Brodmann’s 5 and 7. 5 is responsible for tactile perception and 7 is an integrative area, object recognition without using sight.Acoustic sensitivity regions: area 41 detects changes in frequency and location of sound; area 42 is involved in speech detection and recognition, and processes information from the primary auditory cortex. Besides, Areas 20 and 21 recognize sounds, and 22 perceives them.Gustatory sensitivity. Mainly, area 43. This is located on the posterior lip of the lateral fissure and in the adjacent area of ​​the insula. Thanks to it we process flavor and taste information.Vestibular sensitivity. It is located on the upper lip of the central fissure and on the posterior part of the insula and area 22.. It has to do with the perception of body positions, head movements in space, and maintaining balance.Visual sensitivity. There is Broadman area 17, around the calcarine fissure and the occipital pole, which processes visual content with a retinotopic distribution of visual representations. Besides, Brodmann areas 18 and 19 They relate the information received from area 17 to past recorded visual experiences, for the recognition and appreciation of what is seen.

Associative areas

They are multi-sensory areas capable of associating various sensations with each other and these, in turn, with motor-type areas. They are linked to behavior, perceptual discrimination and the interpretation of sensitive experiences.

They are distributed in three areas: the posterior parietal, the anterior temporal and the prefrontal. We have among them:

Prefrontal areas or Brodmann’s 9, 10, 11, and 12. They are responsible for associating the experiences necessary to produce abstract ideas. In addition, they are related to executive functions, personality and emotions.Previous temporal area. It intervenes in the storage of sensitive experiences. Its stimulation makes us remember objects or music that have been previously experienced. Area 38 of this region is attributed to the foot movement we make when following the rhythm of a song when we hear a melody.Associative areas of language. Broca’s area (Brodmann areas 44 and 45) is dedicated to the motor generation of spoken language. Wernicke’s area (Brodmann areas 22, 39, 40) allows the understanding of written and spoken language, and associate sounds with concepts. Exner’s center interferes with written language, and Dejerine’s and Luria’s center are dedicated to the proper organization of the word.You might be interested…