Brodmann area 10 | |
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Details | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | Area frontopolaris |
NeuroLex ID | Brodmann area 10 |
FMA | 68607 |
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
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Brodmann area 10 (BA10, frontopolar prefrontal cortex, rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, or anterior prefrontal cortex) is the anterior-most portion of the prefrontal cortex in the human brain. BA10 was originally defined broadly in terms of its cytoarchitectonic traits as they were observed in the brains of cadavers, but because modern functional imaging cannot precisely identify these boundaries, the terms anterior prefrontal cortex, rostral prefrontal cortex and frontopolar prefrontal cortex are used to refer to the area in the most anterior part of the frontal cortex that approximately covers BA10—simply to emphasize the fact that BA10 does not include all parts of the prefrontal cortex.
BA10 is the largest cytoarchitectonic area in the human brain. It has been described as "one of the least well understood regions of the human brain". Present research suggests that it is involved in strategic processes in memory recall and various executive functions. During human evolution, the functions in this area resulted in its expansion relative to the rest of the brain.
The volume of the human BA10 is about 14 cm3 and constitutes roughly 1.2% of total brain volume. This is twice what would be expected in a hominoid with a human-sized brain. By comparison, the volume of BA10 in bonobos is about 2.8 cm3, and makes up only 0.74% of its brain volume. In each hemisphere, area 10 contains an estimated 250 million neurons.
BA10 is a subdivision of the cytoarchitecturally defined frontal region of cerebral cortex. It occupies the most rostral portions of the superior frontal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus. In humans, on the medial aspect of the hemisphere it is bounded ventrally by the superior rostral sulcus. It does not extend as far as the cingulate sulcus. Cytoarchitecturally it is bounded dorsally by the granular frontal area 9, caudally by the middle frontal area 46, and ventrally by the orbital area 47 and by the rostral area 12 or, in an early version of Brodmann's cortical map (Brodmann-1909), the prefrontal Brodmann area 11-1909.