Posterior cingulate gyrus

Posterior cingulate cortex
Medial surface of left cerebral hemisphere.
Medial surface. (Areas 23 and 31 at center right. The image is reversed from image above.)
Details
Part of	Cingulate gyrus
Identifiers
Latin	Cortex cingularis posterior
NeuroNames	hier-144
NeuroLex ID	Posterior cingulate cortex
FMA	61924
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is the backmost part of the cingulate cortex, lying behind the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the upper part of the "limbic lobe". The cingulate cortex is made up of an area around the midline of the brain. Surrounding areas include the retrosplenial cortex and the precuneus.

Cytoarchitectonically the posterior cingulate cortex is associated with Brodmann areas 23 and 31.

The posterior cingulate cortex forms a central node in the default mode network of the brain. It has been shown to communicate with various brain networks simultaneously and is involved in various functions. Along with the precuneus, the posterior cingulate cortex has been implicated as a neural substrate for human awareness in numerous studies of both the anesthesized and vegetative (coma) state. Imaging studies indicate a prominent role for the posterior cingulate cortex in pain and episodic memory retrieval. Increased size of posterior ventral cingulate cortex is related to declines in working memory performance. The posterior cingulate cortex has been strongly implicated as a key part of several intrinsic control networks.

The posterior cingulate cortex is the backmost part of the cingulate cortex, lying behind the anterior cingulate cortex. The PCC forms a part of the posteromedial cortex, along with the retrosplenial cortex (Brodmann areas 29 and 30) and precuneus (located posterior and superior to the PCC). The PCC, together with the retrosplenial cortex, forms the retrosplenial gyrus. The posterior cingulate cortex is bordered by the following brain regions: the marginal ramus of the cingulate sulcus (superiorly), the corpus callosum (inferiorly), the parieto-occipital sulcus (posteriorly), and Brodmann area 24 (anteriorly).