Morphological patterns and spatial probability maps of two defining sulci of the posterior ventrolateral frontal cortex of the human brain: the sulcus diagonalis and the anterior ascending ramus of the lateral fissure.

Abstract

The sulcus diagonalis (ds) and the anterior ascending ramus of the lateral fissure (aalf) are two defining sulci of the posterior ventrolateral frontal cortex, which is also known as the anterior language region in the language dominant hemisphere. The aalf extends dorsally from the lateral fissure, separating the pars opercularis from the pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus. The ds, which is a relatively vertical sulcus, is found within the pars opercularis. Given the proximity and similar orientation of these two sulci, it can be difficult to identify them properly. The present study provides a means of differentiating these two sulci accurately using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Voxels within the ds and the aalf were labeled in 40 in vivo MRI volumes (1.5T) that had been linearly registered to the Montreal Neurological Institute stereotaxic space to examine the morphological patterns of these two sulci and classify these patterns based on relations with neighboring sulci. The morphological variability and spatial extent of each sulcus was then quantified in the form of volumetric and surface spatial probability maps. The ds, a rather superficial sulcus, could be identified in 51.25% of hemispheres. The aalf, on the other hand, could be identified in 96.25% of hemispheres and was observed to extend medially, deep below the surface of the hemisphere, to reach the circular sulcus of the insula. Understanding the details of the sulcal morphology of this region, which, in the language dominant left hemisphere, constitutes Broca's area, is crucial to functional and structural neuroimaging studies investigating language.