The bilateral Right Cerebrum.Frontal Lobe.Superior Frontal Gyrus corresponds to cortical tissue occupying the dorsal aspect of the frontal lobe, extending anteriorly from premotor areas toward the frontal pole and medially adjacent to the interhemispheric fissure. This region participates in higher-order executive functions, including working memory, attentional control, and aspects of decision-making, and contributes to the regulation of voluntary behavior and self-initiated actions. It is also involved in motor planning and the integration of cognitive and motor processes. Functionally, the superior frontal gyrus forms part of large-scale networks such as the frontoparietal control network and overlaps with regions implicated in metacognition and internally directed thought. Superior frontal gyrus
The bilateral right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) in the frontal lobe has been repeatedly implicated in genetic studies of brain structure, cognition, and psychiatric risk, though most GWAS interrogate regional cortical thickness, surface area, or volume rather than Talairach-defined labels per se. Large-scale imaging genetics consortia (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) have identified common variants in genes such as HMGA2, IGF1, TCF4, and loci in Wnt, neurodevelopmental, and synaptic pathways that associate with frontal cortical thickness and volume, including superior frontal aspects, often overlapping with general intracranial volume and height loci. Polygenic scores for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder show associations with structural and functional alterations in the SFG, particularly in right frontal regions involved in cognitive control and self-referential processing, with some studies reporting that higher psychiatric polygenic risk correlates with reduced frontal cortical thickness or altered activation during working memory and inhibitory control tasks. GWAS of cognitive traits—such as general intelligence, educational attainment, and executive function—have linked frontal morphometry and activity, including superior frontal areas, to variants in genes related to synaptic plasticity (e.g., BDNF-related pathways) and neuronal development; these associations often appear as part of distributed polygenic effects rather than region-specific single-gene findings. Additionally, risk loci for neurodegenerative and vascular disorders (e.g., APOE for Alzheimer’s disease, variants influencing small-vessel disease and white matter hyperintensities) are associated with superior frontal structural changes, including right-sided atrophy and connectivity disruption, in case-control and longitudinal imaging genetics studies. Overall, the right superior frontal gyrus emerges as a key node where polygenic influences on brain size, cortical organization, cognition, and psychiatric vulnerability converge, with effects mediated by complex, distributed networks rather than single, region-exclusive genetic determinants.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 154
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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