Fusiform gyrus
Encyclopedia
The fusiform gyrus is part of the temporal lobe
in Brodmann Area 37. It is also known as the (discontinuous) occipitotemporal gyrus. Other sources have the fusiform gyrus above the occipitotemporal gyrus and underneath the parahippocampal gyrus
.
Some researchers think that the fusiform gyrus may be related to the disorder known as prosopagnosia
, or face blindness. Research has also shown that the fusiform face area, the area within the fusiform gyrus, is heavily involved in face perception but only to any generic within-category identification which is shown to be one of the functions of the fusiform gyrus. Fusiform gyrus has also been involved in the perception of emotions in facial stimuli.
Increased neurophysiological activity in the fusiform face area may produce hallucinations of faces, whether realistic or cartoonesque, as seen in Charles Bonnet syndrome
, hypnagogic hallucinations
, peduncular hallucinations
, or drug-induced hallucinations.
Recent research has seen activation of the fusiform gyrus during subjective grapheme-color perception in people with synaesthesia.
Temporal lobe
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....
in Brodmann Area 37. It is also known as the (discontinuous) occipitotemporal gyrus. Other sources have the fusiform gyrus above the occipitotemporal gyrus and underneath the parahippocampal gyrus
Parahippocampal gyrus
The parahippocampal gyrus is a grey matter cortical region of the brain that surrounds the hippocampus. This region plays an important role in memory encoding and retrieval....
.
Function
There is still some dispute over the functionalities of this area, but there is relative consensus on the following:- processing of color information
- face and body recognition (see Fusiform face areaFusiform face areaThe fusiform face area is a part of the human visual system which might be specialized for facial recognition, although there is some evidence that it also processes categorical information about other objects, particularly familiar ones.-Localization:...
) - word recognition
- number recognition [questionable: may only be as a result of a global response of any generic recognition tasks, further statistical evidence needed]
- within-category identification
Some researchers think that the fusiform gyrus may be related to the disorder known as prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia is a disorder of face perception where the ability to recognize faces is impaired, while the ability to recognize other objects may be relatively intact...
, or face blindness. Research has also shown that the fusiform face area, the area within the fusiform gyrus, is heavily involved in face perception but only to any generic within-category identification which is shown to be one of the functions of the fusiform gyrus. Fusiform gyrus has also been involved in the perception of emotions in facial stimuli.
Increased neurophysiological activity in the fusiform face area may produce hallucinations of faces, whether realistic or cartoonesque, as seen in Charles Bonnet syndrome
Charles Bonnet syndrome
Charles Bonnet syndrome is a condition that causes patients with visual loss to have complex visual hallucinations, first described by Charles Bonnet in 1760 and first introduced into English-speaking psychiatry in 1982.-Characteristics:...
, hypnagogic hallucinations
Hypnagogia
Hypnagogia is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep , originally coined in adjectival form as "hypnagogic" by Alfred Maury....
, peduncular hallucinations
Peduncular hallucinosis
Peduncular hallucinosis, also known as Lhermitte's peduncular hallucinosis, is a rare neurological syndrome with a relatively rich series of detailed clinical case studies in the medical literature....
, or drug-induced hallucinations.
Recent research has seen activation of the fusiform gyrus during subjective grapheme-color perception in people with synaesthesia.
External links
- "Cerebral Hemisphere, Inferior View"- Location at mattababy.org
- "VS Ramachandran on your mind" at ted.com
- "Oliver Sacks: What hallucination reveals about our minds" at ted.com
- NIF Search - Fusiform Gyrus via the Neuroscience Information FrameworkNeuroscience Information FrameworkThe Neuroscience Information Framework is a repository of global neuroscience web resources, including experimental, clinical, and translational neuroscience databases, knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/genomic resources.-Description:...
