Superior temporal gyrus

Eloquence

• Speech areas of the dominant hemisphere (usually left) are classed as eloquent by Spetzler-Martin and Sawaya; this applies to the posterior part in the dominant hemisphere, which the template cannot identify for an individual. (Spetzler and Martin 1986; Sawaya et al. 1998)

What it does

• In the dominant hemisphere (usually left), the posterior superior temporal gyrus takes part in speech processing; it is the core of the classical Wernicke area, whose boundaries and role remain debated. (Binder 2015; Hickok and Poeppel 2007)
• Primary auditory cortex lies on the transverse temporal gyri on its upper surface, which the Desikan-Killiany atlas labels separately as transverse temporal. (Hickok and Poeppel 2007; Desikan et al. 2006)

Arterial supply

• Supplied by temporal cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery. (Tatu et al. 1998; Rhoton 2002)

Venous drainage

• Drained by superficial cortical veins to the superficial sylvian vein and, over the lateral temporal surface, toward the inferior anastomotic vein (of Labbé), which joins the transverse sinus. (Rhoton 2002)

Deficits if injured

• Damage to the posterior superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere (usually left) is associated with disturbed phonological processing, including phonemic paraphasia; attributing comprehension deficits to this area alone has been challenged. (Binder 2015)

Surgical relevance

• Language sites in the dominant temporal lobe (usually left) vary between individuals; resection near them is commonly guided by stimulation mapping. (Ojemann et al. 1989; Sanai et al. 2008)

On the template

Desikan-Killiany. Values describe the fsaverage template, not an individual or a population norm.

Area: pial surface of the fsaverage average, which is smoother than individual cortex. Volume: voxel count of the fsaverage aseg segmentation at 1 mm isotropic.

References

1. Spetzler RF, Martin NA. A proposed grading system for arteriovenous malformations. Journal of Neurosurgery 1986;65(4):476-483. doi:10.3171/jns.1986.65.4.0476
2. Sawaya R, Hammoud M, Schoppa D, Hess KR, Wu SZ, Shi WM, et al.. Neurosurgical Outcomes in a Modern Series of 400 Craniotomies for Treatment of Parenchymal Tumors. Neurosurgery 1998;42(5):1044-1055. doi:10.1097/00006123-199805000-00054
3. Binder JR. The Wernicke area. Neurology 2015;85(24):2170-2175. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002219
4. Hickok G, Poeppel D. The cortical organization of speech processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2007;8(5):393-402. doi:10.1038/nrn2113
5. Desikan RS, Ségonne F, Fischl B, Quinn BT, Dickerson BC, Blacker D, et al.. An automated labeling system for subdividing the human cerebral cortex on MRI scans into gyral based regions of interest. NeuroImage 2006;31(3):968-980. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.01.021
6. Tatu L, Moulin T, Bogousslavsky J, Duvernoy H. Arterial territories of the human brain. Neurology 1998;50(6):1699-1708. doi:10.1212/WNL.50.6.1699
7. Rhoton AL. The Supratentorial Arteries. Neurosurgery 2002;51(suppl_4):S1-53-S1-120. doi:10.1097/00006123-200210001-00003
8. Rhoton AL. The Cerebral Veins. Neurosurgery 2002;51(suppl_4):S1-159-S1-205. doi:10.1097/00006123-200210001-00005
9. Ojemann G, Ojemann J, Lettich E, Berger M. Cortical language localization in left, dominant hemisphere. Journal of Neurosurgery 1989;71(3):316-326. doi:10.3171/jns.1989.71.3.0316
10. Sanai N, Mirzadeh Z, Berger MS. Functional Outcome after Language Mapping for Glioma Resection. New England Journal of Medicine 2008;358(1):18-27. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa067819