Heschl (Right)

Overview

Heschl’s gyrus (Right) is a cortical region located on the superior surface of the temporal lobe within the lateral sulcus and constitutes the primary auditory cortex (Brodmann areas 41 and parts of 42) on the right hemisphere. It receives thalamocortical projections primarily from the medial geniculate body of the thalamus and is organized tonotopically, supporting the initial cortical processing of acoustic features such as frequency, intensity, and temporal patterns of sound. The right Heschl’s gyrus has been implicated in aspects of spectral and pitch processing, as well as in the analysis of complex auditory stimuli including music and environmental sounds, and it forms part of the broader auditory network with reciprocal connections to secondary auditory areas and multimodal association cortices. Heschl’s gyrus

The right Heschl gyrus (primary auditory cortex) in the AAL2 atlas has been implicated in several genetic and GWAS-based neuroimaging findings, though most associations are region-level or bilateral rather than strictly right-lateralized. Large imaging genetics consortia such as ENIGMA and UK Biobank–based studies have identified common variants influencing cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification in temporal and auditory cortices that include Heschl’s gyrus, with loci near genes involved in neurodevelopment and synaptic function (e.g., variants near MIR137, GRIN2A, and other glutamatergic and neuronal growth pathways) contributing to temporal lobe morphology. Heschl’s gyrus structure and activation have shown genetic correlations with language and speech-related traits, pitch perception, musical aptitude, and reading abilities, as well as with neuropsychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder, where risk variants are associated with altered auditory cortex anatomy and atypical processing of speech and sound. GWAS of tinnitus, auditory hallucinations, and psychosis-related phenotypes have also implicated temporal auditory regions including Heschl’s gyrus, suggesting shared genetic influences on both structural properties and susceptibility to auditory-perceptual disturbances, although specific right-hemisphere Heschl–exclusive genetic associations remain limited and are generally inferred from hemispheric asymmetry or lateralization analyses rather than distinct loci.

Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).

Region ID: 8102
Hemisphere: right
Atlas: AAL2

Heschl (Right) – Black Background (Full Brain)

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Heschl (Right) – White Background (Full Brain)

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Heschl (Right) – Black Background (Hemisphere)

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Heschl (Right) – White Background (Hemisphere)

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Triplanar View – T1 Background

Triplanar View – Ghost Brain