Brodmann area 39, or BA39, is part of the parietal

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

in the

human brain The human brain is the central organ (anatomy), organ of the nervous system, and with the spinal cord, comprises the central nervous system. It consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. The brain controls most of the activi ...

. BA39 encompasses the

angular gyrus The angular gyrus is a region of the brain lying mainly in the posteroinferior region of the parietal lobe, occupying the posterior part of the inferior parietal lobule. It represents the Brodmann area 39. Its significance is in transferring vis ...

, lying near to the junction of temporal, occipital and

parietal lobe The parietal lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The parietal lobe is positioned above the temporal lobe and behind the frontal lobe and central sulcus. The parietal lobe integra ...

s. This area is also known as angular area 39 (H). It corresponds to the

surrounding the caudal tip of the

superior temporal sulcus The superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the sulcus separating the superior temporal gyrus from the middle temporal gyrus, in the temporal lobe of the mammalian brain. A sulcus (plural sulci) is a deep groove that curves into the largest part of ...

. It is bounded dorsally approximately by the

intraparietal sulcus The intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is located on the lateral surface of the parietal lobe, and consists of an oblique and a horizontal portion. The IPS contains a series of functionally distinct subregions that have been intensively investigated usin ...

. In terms of its

cytoarchitecture Cytoarchitecture (from Greek κύτος 'cell' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope. Cytoarchit ...

, it is bounded rostrally by the supramarginal area 40 (H), dorsally and caudally by the peristriate area 19, and ventrally by the occipitotemporal area 37 (H) (Brodmann-1909).

Function

Area 39 was regarded by

Alexander Luria Alexander Romanovich Luria (; , ; 16 July 1902 – 14 August 1977) was a Soviet neuropsychology, neuropsychologist, often credited as a father of modern neuropsychology. He developed an extensive and original battery of neuropsychological ...

as a part of the parietal-temporal-occipital area, which includes

Brodmann area 40 Brodmann area 40 (BA40) is part of the parietal lobe, parietalcerebral cortex , cortex in the human brain. The inferior part of BA40 is in the area of the supramarginal gyrus, which lies at the posterior end of the lateral fissure, in the inferi ...

, Brodmann area 19, and Brodmann area 37. Damage to the left Brodmann area 39 may result in dyslexia or in semantic

aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

had less neurones (relative to

glial cells Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and in the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up ...

) in this (left sided) area than normal. The right Brodmann area 39 appears to play a role in body image because electrical stimulation of the right angular gyrus induces an 'out-of-body' experience.

References

39 Parietal lobe {{neuroanatomy-stub

Function

See also

References