Superior temporal sulcus

Superior temporal sulcus
A black and white line drawing of the cerebrum that includes labels of each gyri and sulci. The Superior Temporal Sulcus is highlighted in red.
A grayscale cartoon image of the brain that shows detailed folds (gyri and sulci). The Superior Temporal Sulcus is highlighted in red.
Details
Part ofTemporal lobe
Identifiers
Latinsulcus temporalis superior
NeuroNames129
TA98A14.1.09.145
TA25494
FMA83783
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

In the human brain, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the sulcus separating the superior temporal gyrus from the middle temporal gyrus in the temporal lobe of the brain. A sulcus (plural sulci) is a deep groove that curves into the largest part of the brain, the cerebrum, and a gyrus (plural gyri) is a ridge that curves outward of the cerebrum.[1]

The STS is located under the lateral fissure, which is the fissure that separates the temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe.[1] The STS has an asymmetric structure between the left and right hemisphere, with the STS being longer in the left hemisphere, but deeper in the right hemisphere.[2] This asymmetrical structural organization between hemispheres has only been found to occur in the STS of the human brain.[2]

The STS has been shown to produce strong responses when subjects perceive stimuli in research areas that include theory of mind, biological motion, faces, voices, and language.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b Bui, Toai; M Das, Joe (2020), "Neuroanatomy, Cerebral Hemisphere", StatPearls [Internet], Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID 31747196, NBK549789
  2. ^ a b Leroy, F; et al. (27 January 2015). "New human-specific brain landmark: the depth asymmetry of superior temporal sulcus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (4): 1208–13. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112.1208L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1412389112. PMC 4313811. PMID 25583500.
  3. ^ Beauchamp, MS (September 2015). "The social mysteries of the superior temporal sulcus". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 19 (9): 489–90. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.002. PMC 4556565. PMID 26208834.
  4. ^ Deen, B; Koldewyn, K; Kanwisher, N; Saxe, R (November 2015). "Functional Organization of Social Perception and Cognition in the Superior Temporal Sulcus". Cerebral Cortex. 25 (11): 4596–609. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv111. PMC 4816802. PMID 26048954.