The bilateral Right Cerebrum.Occipital Lobe.Precuneus.Gray Matter.Brodmann area 31 corresponds to a posterior segment of the medial parietal cortex that borders the occipital lobe, within the Talairach 1 mm atlas. Brodmann area 31 is part of the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial–precuneus region and is typically associated with higher-order associative functions, including visuospatial imagery, self-referential processing, episodic memory retrieval, and integration of multimodal sensory information. Cytoarchitectonically, this cortex exhibits a well-developed granular layer IV and distinct pyramidal layers, consistent with heteromodal association cortex rather than primary sensory areas. Functionally, this region contributes to large-scale intrinsic networks such as the default mode network, supporting internally directed cognition and contextual evaluation of visual and spatial information. There is no direct link for “Brodmann area 31” as a standalone page; a related structure is the Precuneus.
The bilateral right precuneus gray matter in Brodmann area 31, as defined in the Talairach 1 mm atlas, has been implicated in multiple genetic and GWAS-based associations through its overlap with default mode and visuospatial networks rather than via region-specific loci. Large-scale imaging genetics studies (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) have identified SNPs in genes related to neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity, and myelination (such as variants near MAPT, APOE, and genes regulating glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling) that influence precuneus cortical thickness, surface area, and functional connectivity, often in conjunction with broader parietal and posterior cingulate regions. APOE ε4 and other Alzheimer’s disease risk variants show robust associations with atrophy and hypometabolism in posterior cortical regions encompassing the precuneus/BA31, consistent with early AD pathology. Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and autism spectrum disorder have been linked to altered precuneus structure and default mode network connectivity, though effects are typically distributed and not exclusive to BA31. GWAS of intrinsic functional networks and cognitive traits (e.g., episodic memory, self-referential processing, and visuospatial attention) also implicate the precuneus through genes involved in axon guidance, synaptic organization, and calcium signaling. Overall, genetic influences on the bilateral right BA31 precuneus appear to operate via widespread neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative pathways rather than region-specific genes, contributing to vulnerability and phenotypic variation across neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 824
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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