Lingual gyrus

Lingual gyrus
Medial surface of left cerebral hemisphere. (Lingual gyrus visible at left.)
Medial surface of right cerebral hemisphere. (Lingual gyrus visible at right.)
Details
Part of	Occipital lobe
Artery	Posterior cerebral
Identifiers
Latin	gyrus lingualis
NeuroNames	hier-140
NeuroLex ID	Lingual gyrus
TA	A14.1.09.226
FMA	61904
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The lingual gyrus is a brain structure that is linked to processing vision, especially related to letters. It is thought to also play a role in analysis of logical conditions (i.e. logical order of events) and encoding visual memories. The lingual gyrus is named after the shape it most closely resembles - the tongue. It is believed that a hypermetabolism of the lingual gyrus is associated with visual snow. Contrary to the name, the region has little to do with speech.

The lingual gyrus of the occipital lobe lies between the calcarine sulcus and the posterior part of the collateral sulcus; behind, it reaches the occipital pole; in front, it is continued on to the tentorial surface of the temporal lobe, and joins the parahippocampal gyrus.

This region is believed to play an important role in vision and dreaming. Visual memory dysfunction and visuo-limbic disconnection have been shown in cases where the lingual gyrus has been damaged (due to stroke or other traumatic brain injuries). Further, impaired visual memory is related to either damage to the region or disconnections between the gyrus and other brain structures. Hypermetabolism in the lingual gyrus has been associated with visual snow syndrome.

Lingual gyrus activation has been linked to encoding of complex images. Subjects were scanned using fMRI while looking at pictures. The images were emotionally neutral, with no people in close-up. Subjects were tasked with memorizing the images for recognition at a later date. Data from the fMRI showed in several structures, notably the lingual gyrus. Similar activation was recorded during the recollection several weeks later. It has also been shown that activation of ventral occipitotemporal cortex, including lingual gyrus, is related to the processing of visual information about parts of human faces. Furthermore, left lingual gyrus activates during memorizing and maintating images of human faces in the working memory.

Activation of lingual gyrus has been shown in selective visual attention studies. Subjects were tasked with memorizing symbols in certain visual fields while ignoring those in others. In some subjects, the lingual gyrus was activated. The hemispheric activation of the structure was dependent on which visual field the subject was focused on. Hemispheric dependent gyrus activation has also been shown by isolating visual fields rather than by diverting focus.