Pars opercularis
| Brain: Pars opercularis | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Lateral surface of left cerebral hemisphere, viewed from the side. (Pars opercularis visible near center). | ||
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| Brodmann area 44 | ||
| Latin | Pars opercularis gyri frontalis inferioris | |
| Acronym(s) | OpIFG | |
| NeuroNames | hier-69 | |
The Pars Opercularis (literally "the part that covers") is part of the inferior frontal gyrus and is part of the mirror neurons.
Relationship to autism
Abnormal blood flow in the Pars Opercularis has been shown to be an indicator for autism. Previous theories had tied autism to abnormalities in the cerebellum, due to the fascination with spinning exhibited by autistic children. 1
- "Neuroscientist Mirella Dapretto of the University of California Los Angeles and her colleagues surveyed the brains of 10 autistic children and an equal number of nonautistic children as they watched and imitated 80 different faces displaying either anger, fear, happiness, sadness or no emotion. By measuring the amount of blood flow (Blood-oxygen-level dependent) to certain regions of the childrens' brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, the researchers could determine what parts of the brain were being used as the subjects completed the tasks. The autistic children differed from their peers in only one respect: each showed reduced activity in the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus--a brain region located near the temple." 2