Inferior frontal gyrus

The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), (gyrus frontalis inferior), is

the lowest positioned gyrus of the frontal gyri, of the frontal lobe,
Inferior frontal gyrus
and is part of the prefrontal cortex.

Its superior border is the inferior frontal sulcus (which divides it

from the middle frontal gyrus), its inferior border is the lateral
sulcus (which divides it from the superior temporal gyrus) and its
posterior border is the inferior precentral sulcus. Above it is the
middle frontal gyrus, behind it is the precentral gyrus.[1]

The inferior frontal gyrus is the location of Broca's area, which is

involved in language processing and speech production. Inferior frontal gyrus of the human
brain, gyrus frontalis inferior.

Contents
Structure
Function
Language processing
Language comprehension and production
Lateral surface of left hemisphere
References
viewed from the side. Inferior frontal
gyrus shown in yellow.
Structure Details
Part of Frontal lobe
The inferior frontal gyrus is highly convoluted and has three
Parts Pars opercularis, Pars
cytoarchitecturally diverse regions.[2] The three subdivisions are
triangularis, Pars
an opercular part, a triangular part, and an orbital part. These
divisions are marked by two rami arising from the lateral sulcus.[3] orbitalis
The ascending ramus separates the opercular and triangular Artery Middle cerebral
parts.[4] The anterior (horizontal) ramus separates the triangular Identifiers
and orbital parts.[5]
Latin gyrus frontalis inferior
Opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus (pars NeuroNames 85 (http://braininfo.rprc.
opercularis), (cortex posterior to the ascending ramus of washington.edu/central
the lateral sulcus), is the part of frontal lobe that overlies
directory.aspx?ID=85)
the insular cortex and may be associated with
recognizing a tone of voice in spoken native NeuroLex ID birnlex_873 (http://www.
languages.[6] This expands on previous work[7] neurolex.org/wiki/birnlex
indicating that comprehension of inflectional morpheme _873)
processing is associated with the inferior frontal gyrus.
TA98 A14.1.09.113 (http://ww
Triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus (pars
w.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/Ent
triangularis), (cortex between the ascending ramus and
the horizontal ramus of the lateral sulcus). It may be ryPage/TA98%20Tree/E
associated with the ability to translate from a secondary ntity%20TA98%20EN/1
or tertiary language back to one's native language.[8] 4.1.09.113%20Entity%2
 Orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus (pars orbitalis) 0TA98%20EN.htm)
(cortex inferior and anterior to the horizontal ramus of A15.2.07.058 (http://ww
the lateral sulcus) w.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/Ent
ryPage/TA98%20Tree/E
Cytoarchitecturally the opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus
ntity%20TA98%20EN/1
is known as Brodmann area 44 (BA44). The triangular part of the
inferior frontal gyrus is known as Brodmann area 45 (BA45), and 5.2.07.058%20Entity%2
the orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus is known as Brodmann 0TA98%20EN.htm)
area 47. The opercular part and the triangular part (BA44 and TA2 5447 (https://ta2viewer.
BA45) make up Broca's area. openanatomy.org/?id=5
447)
Function FMA 61860 (https://bioportal.
bioontology.org/ontologi
The inferior frontal gyrus has a number of functions including the es/FMA/?p=classes&co
processing of speech and language in Broca's area. Neural nceptid=http%3A%2F%
circuitry has been shown to connect different sites of stimulus to
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other regions of response including other subdivisions and also
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other frontal gyri.[2]
0)
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
Language processing

The left opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus is a part of the articulatory network involved in motor
syllable programs. The articulatory network also contains the premotor cortex, and the anterior insula. These
areas are interrelated but have specific functions in speech comprehension and production. The articulatory
network acts mostly when the vocal tract moves to produce syllables. The pars opercularis acts indirectly
through the motor cortex to control the motor aspect of speech production, and codes motor programs for this
system, while the auditory cortex (via the temporoparietal junction in the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure) houses
a series of sensory targets. Together, these areas function as a sensory-motor loop for syllable information
coding.

In a study conducted comparing phonological and arithmetic processing and the involvement of different
sections of the inferior frontal gyrus and angular gyrus, cortical activation for phonology, subtraction, and
multiplication tasks was compared. The predetermined language-calculation network was limited to the left
inferior frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and the horizontal portion of the intraparietal
sulcus. The results were significant to support that there was a pattern of left lateralization for each of these
tasks all activating the Perisylvian fissure network, with some general localized areas for phonology and
arithmetic. It was supported that phonology activated the pars opercularis (BA44), and anterior angular gyrus,
multiplication mainly implicated the pars triangularis (BA45), and the posterior angular gyrus. These systems
are activated through similar neuronal processes but independently placed along the network.

Language comprehension and production

Most language processing takes place in Broca's area usually in the left hemisphere.[9] Damage to this region
often results in a type of non-fluent aphasia known as Broca's aphasia. Broca's area is made up of the pars
opercularis and the pars triangularis, both of which contribute to verbal fluency, but each has its own specific
contribution. The pars opercularis (BA44) is involved in language production and phonological processing
due to its connections with motor areas of the mouth and tongue. The pars triangularis (BA45) is involved in
semantic processing. Characteristics of Broca's aphasia include agrammatic speech, relatively good language
comprehension, poor repetition, and difficulty speaking mostly uttering short sentences made up mostly of
nouns. The left IFG has also been suggested to play a role in inhibitory processes, including the tendency to
inhibit learning from undesirable information. For example, transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left IFG
has been shown to release such inhibition, increasing the ability to learn from undesirable information.[10]

The right opercular part of the IFG, (BA44) has been implicated in go/no go tasks.[11] In these tasks, the
participant encounters a preliminary task (for instance repeatedly pressing a button), and then must halt this
task whenever a "no go" signal is presented, ultimately measuring a level of impulse control through inhibition
of a prepotent response. It seems that the same area is also implicated in risk aversion: a study found that
higher risk aversion correlated with higher activity at IFG.[12] This might be explained as an inhibition signal
to accept a risky option. Disruption of activity of this area with transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS)
leads to change in risk attitudes, as behaviorally demonstrated by choices over risky outcomes.[13][14]

References
1. Nolte (2002), The Human Brain, ISBN 978-0-323-01320-8 photos on p526 & p.546
2. Greenlee, JD; et al. (1 August 2007). "Functional connections within the human inferior frontal
gyrus". The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 503 (4): 550–9. doi:10.1002/cne.21405 (https://
doi.org/10.1002%2Fcne.21405). PMID 17534935 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17534935).
3. "anterior ramus of lateral cerebral sulcus" (https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/anter
ior+ramus+of+lateral+cerebral+sulcus). TheFreeDictionary.com.
4. Gaillard, Frank. "Ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus | Radiology Reference Article |
Radiopaedia.org" (https://radiopaedia.org/articles/ascending-ramus-of-the-lateral-sulcus?lang=
gb). Radiopaedia.
5. Gaillard, Frank. "Anterior ramus of the lateral sulcus | Radiology Reference Article |
Radiopaedia.org" (https://radiopaedia.org/articles/anterior-ramus-of-the-lateral-sulcus).
Radiopaedia.
6. Schremm, A; et al. (January 2018). "Cortical thickness of planum temporale and pars
opercularis in native language tone processing" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.bandl.2017.12.00
1). Brain and Language. 176: 42–47. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2017.12.001 (https://doi.org/10.101
6%2Fj.bandl.2017.12.001).
7. Tyler, LK; et al. (2005). "Temporal and frontal systems in speech comprehension: An fMRI study
of past tense processing". Neuropsychologia. 43 (13): 1963–1974.
doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.03.008 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuropsychologia.2
005.03.008).
8. Elmer, Stefan (29 November 2016). "Broca Pars Triangularis Constitutes a "Hub" of the
Language-Control Network during Simultaneous Language Translation" (https://doi.org/10.338
9%2Ffnhum.2016.00491). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00491
(https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffnhum.2016.00491).
9. The "dominant inferior frontal convolution" —Fauci, et.al, eds. (1998), Harrison's Principles of
Internal Medicine, 14th Edition, Companion Handbook, ISBN 978-0-07-021530-6. p.1055
10. Sharot, T., Kanai, R., Marston, D., Korn, C. W., Rees, G. & Dolan, R.J. (2012) Selectively
Altering Belief Formation in the Human Brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, 109 (42), 17058–17062.
11. Aron AR, Robbins TW, Poldrack RA (2004). "Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex".
Trends Cogn Sci. 8 (4): 170–177. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.02.010 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ti
cs.2004.02.010). PMID 15050513 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15050513).
12. Christopoulos, GI.; Tobler, PN.; Bossaerts, P.; Dolan, RJ.; Schultz, W. (Oct 2009). "Neural
correlates of value, risk, and risk aversion contributing to decision making under risk" (https://w
ww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2794196). J Neurosci. 29 (40): 12574–83.
doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2614-09.2009 (https://doi.org/10.1523%2FJNEUROSCI.2614-09.20
09). PMC 2794196 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2794196). PMID 19812332
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19812332).
13. Knoch D, Gianotti LR, Pascual-Leone A, Treyer V, Regard M, Hohmann M, Brugger P (2006).
"Disruption of right prefrontal cortex by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic
stimulation induces risk-taking behavior" (http://boris.unibe.ch/61185/1/6469.full.pdf) (PDF). J
Neurosci. 26 (24): 6469–6472. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0804-06.2006 (https://doi.org/10.152
3%2FJNEUROSCI.0804-06.2006). PMID 16775134 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1677513
4).
14. Fecteau S, Pascual-Leone A, Zald DH, Liguori P, Théoret H, Boggio PS, Fregni F (2007).
"Activation of prefrontal cortex by transcranial direct current stimulation reduces appetite for risk
during ambiguous decision making" (https://doi.org/10.1523%2FJNEUROSCI.0314-07.2007). J
Neurosci. 27 (23): 6212–6218. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0314-07.2007 (https://doi.org/10.152
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