The bilateral Right Cerebrum.Frontal Lobe.Rectal Gyrus.Gray Matter.Brodmann area 11 corresponds to the right-sided portion of the orbitofrontal cortex within Brodmann area 11, specifically involving the gyrus rectus (rectal gyrus) on the ventromedial surface of the frontal lobe. This region is part of the prefrontal cortex and is strongly implicated in reward valuation, decision-making, emotional regulation, and the integration of visceral and autonomic signals into higher-order cognition. Its connections with limbic structures (including the amygdala and hypothalamus) and other prefrontal areas support roles in socially appropriate behavior, expectation of rewards and punishments, and modulation of affective states. There is no direct Wikipedia article for this exact Talairach label; a closely related structure encompassing this area is Orbitofrontal cortex.
The bilateral right rectal gyrus (gyrus rectus) in Brodmann area 11, a ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) region, has been implicated in genetic studies primarily through its roles in reward processing, valuation, emotion, and social cognition rather than through region-specific GWAS hits; nonetheless, multiple genome-wide association and imaging-genetics studies link its structure and function to heritable traits and disorders. Twin and SNP-heritability studies show that vmPFC and orbitofrontal cortical thickness and surface area, which encompass BA11/rectal gyrus, are substantially heritable, with common variants in genes involved in neurodevelopment (e.g., MEF2C, CADM2, POU3F2, and other synaptic and axon-guidance genes) associated with prefrontal morphology and connectivity. Large-scale neuroimaging GWAS (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) report associations between orbitofrontal/vmPFC measures and polygenic risk scores for major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease, with structural reductions or altered activation in BA11-like regions linked to risk alleles in serotonin (SLC6A4), dopamine (DRD2/DRD3), glutamatergic (GRM3, GRIN2A), and calcium-channel genes (CACNA1C). Rectal gyrus/vmPFC activation patterns associated with decision-making, delay discounting, and risk-taking show modulation by genetic variation in dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways, overlapping with GWAS loci for impulsivity, substance use, and risk tolerance (e.g., variants near CADM2, DRD2, and genes from large behavioral GWAS). Additionally, vmPFC/BA11 involvement in social behavior and moral judgment has been related in imaging-genetics to oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes (OXTR, AVPR1A), and structural and functional abnormalities in this region are repeatedly observed in carriers of high polygenic load for autism spectrum disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and anxiety, although precise, rectal gyrus–specific GWAS associations remain sparse and most findings derive from broader orbitofrontal/vmPFC phenotypes.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 145
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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