Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Arcuate fasciculus
Summary
In neuroanatomy, the arcuate fasciculus (AF; ) is a bundle of axons that generally connects the Broca's area and the Wernicke's area in the brain. It is an association fiber tract connecting caudal temporal cortex and inferior frontal lobe.
The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter tract that runs parallel to the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Due to their proximity, some researchers refer to them interchangeably. They can be distinguished by the location and function of their endpoints in the frontal cortex. The arcuate fasciculus terminates in Broca's area (specifically BA 44) which is linked to processing complex syntax. However, the superior longitudinal fasciculus ends in the premotor cortex which is implicated in acoustic-motor mapping.
Historically, the arcuate fasciculus has been understood to connect two important areas for language use: Broca's area in the inferior frontal gyrus and Wernicke's area in the posterior superior temporal gyrus. The majority of scientists consider this to be an oversimplification; however, this model is still utilized because a satisfactory replacement has not been developed. The topographical relationships between independent measures of white matter and gray matter integrity suggest that rich developmental or environmental interactions influence brain structure and function. The presence and strength of such associations may elucidate pathophysiological processes influencing systems such as language and motor planning.
As the technique of diffusion MRI has improved, this has become a testable hypothesis. Research indicates more diffuse termination of the fibers of the arcuate than previously thought. While the main caudal source of the fiber tract appears to be posterior superior temporal cortex, the rostral terminations are mostly in premotor cortex, part of Brodmann area 44.
Myelination is a process by which axons are covered with a protective substance called myelin that drastically increases the signaling efficiency of the neuron. The arcuate fasciculus is heavily myelinated in healthy adult brains.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.