The bilateral Left Cerebrum.Parietal Lobe.Precuneus.Gray Matter.Brodmann area 39 corresponds primarily to the angular gyrus region within the inferior parietal lobule, situated at the junction of the parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. This association cortex is involved in complex multimodal integration, including language-related processes (such as reading and semantic processing), spatial cognition, number processing, and aspects of episodic memory and social-cognitive functions (e.g., theory of mind). Functionally, BA39 participates in large-scale networks such as the default mode and language networks, receiving convergent visual, auditory, and somatosensory input and contributing to high-level symbolic and conceptual processing.
The bilateral left precuneus gray matter in Brodmann area 39 (inferior parietal/precuneus region in the Talairach labels 1 mm atlas) has been implicated in several genetic and imaging–genetics studies, particularly through GWAS of cortical thickness, surface area, and volume. Large consortia such as ENIGMA and UK Biobank have identified common variants in genes related to neurodevelopment (e.g., pleiotropic loci near genes such as HMGA2, WNT signaling components, and other axon guidance or synaptic genes) that influence parietal and precuneus morphology, often overlapping with loci affecting global intracranial volume and general cognitive ability. Variants in genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk (e.g., APOE, CLU, PICALM) and polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer’s and other dementias show correlations with precuneus atrophy or altered connectivity, consistent with the region’s vulnerability in early Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment. GWAS of schizophrenia, major depression, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have linked their polygenic risk architectures to structural and functional differences in the precuneus/inferior parietal region, reflecting its role in default mode network function and social–cognitive processes. Additional associations have been reported between parietal/precuneus morphology and genetic liability to traits such as intelligence, educational attainment, and neuroticism, suggesting that this region serves as a convergence point where neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative genetic influences shape higher-order cognition and self-referential processing.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 990
Hemisphere: bilateral
Atlas: Talairach labels 1mm
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Wali Sidiqyar*, Gaurav Rudravaram*, Elyssa M. McMaster, Trent M. Schwartz, Adam M. Saunders, Kurt G. Schilling, Bennett A. Landman "Introducing SPINS: A Shared Public Visualization Library of Neuroanatomical Structures." Medical Imaging with Deep Learning- short paper
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