The bilateral Left Cerebrum.Frontal Lobe.Rectal Gyrus.White Matter corresponds to subcortical white matter deep to the rectus gyrus (often termed the gyrus rectus) of the frontal lobe, situated on the medial orbital surface of the frontal cortex adjacent to the olfactory sulcus and near the medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex. This white matter consists of myelinated axonal pathways interconnecting the rectus gyrus with other frontal regions, limbic structures, and subcortical nuclei, contributing to circuits involved in emotion regulation, social and reward-related processing, and higher-order executive functions. While there is no direct Wikipedia article specifically for “Rectal Gyrus White Matter,” the related cortical region is covered under the gyrus rectus: Gyrus rectus.
The rectal gyrus (often grouped with medial/orbitofrontal frontal regions) and its underlying white matter have not been a direct focus of region-specific genetic association studies, but GWAS and imaging genetics work implicate overlapping frontal lobe and orbitofrontal circuits in several traits and disorders. Large-scale ENIGMA and UK Biobank studies show that cortical thickness and volume in medial and orbitofrontal areas are moderately heritable and associated with variants in genes involved in neurodevelopment, synaptic function, and axonal guidance (e.g., genes near loci in 3p24, 5q14–15, and 10q24), though these findings are typically reported at lobar or broader regional levels rather than specifically for the rectal gyrus white matter. Genetic variants influencing white matter microstructure (measured by diffusion MRI) often map to pathways governing myelination and oligodendrocyte function, and frontal white matter tracts, including medial orbitofrontal connections, are among structures showing heritable fractional anisotropy and susceptibility to polygenic risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and ADHD. Polygenic risk scores for these psychiatric disorders have been linked to altered frontal and orbitofrontal anatomy and connectivity, supporting a convergent model in which common risk variants affect frontal cortical development and white matter integrity, with the rectal gyrus region participating as part of this broader frontal network rather than standing out as a uniquely and specifically implicated locus.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 148
Hemisphere: bilateral
Atlas: Talairach labels 2mm
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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