The bilateral Left Cerebrum.Occipital Lobe.Middle Temporal Gyrus.White Matter refers to the subcortical myelinated fiber tracts underlying the middle temporal gyrus at the occipital–temporal junction in the left cerebral hemisphere, as defined in the Talairach 2 mm atlas. This white matter region contains association fibers connecting lateral temporal visual and language-related areas with occipital visual cortices and other temporal and parietal regions, supporting the integration of visual information with higher-order processes such as object recognition, semantic processing, and aspects of language comprehension. Although there is no direct Wikipedia article for this exact composite region label, it is structurally related to the Middle temporal gyrus and the Occipital lobe.
Genetic associations specifically targeting the bilateral Left Cerebrum Occipital Lobe Middle Temporal Gyrus white matter (as defined in the Talairach 2 mm atlas) are not well characterized at this fine-grained level, but several large-scale imaging genetics and GWAS studies implicate nearby occipito-temporal and middle temporal white matter tracts in neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and psychiatric phenotypes. Variants in genes involved in axon guidance and myelination (e.g., NRG1, CNTNAP2, MAG, MBP) have been associated with white matter microstructure in temporal and occipital regions as measured by diffusion tensor imaging, with downstream links to language abilities, reading and dyslexia, autism spectrum conditions, and schizophrenia. Polygenic scores for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder have been correlated with altered fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in temporal and occipital white matter pathways, including inferior longitudinal and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi that pass near the middle temporal gyrus. GWAS of brain imaging phenotypes (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) have identified loci in and near genes such as DTNBP1, BDNF, and clusterin (CLU) associated with temporal lobe white matter integrity and cortical thickness, which in turn relate to memory, visual processing, and risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, common variants influencing general cognitive ability and educational attainment show associations with structural measures in temporal and occipital cortices and their connecting white matter, suggesting that genetic effects on this region contribute to individual differences in higher-order visual processing and language-related networks, though evidence remains indirect and typically reported at the level of tracts or lobes rather than the precise Talairach-defined region.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 562
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
This resource is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain).