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Brodmann area 12: an historical puzzle relevant to FTLD
M Kawamura1, M W Miller, H Ichikawa
1Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8666, Japan. kawa@med.showa-u.ac.jp
Neurology
|May 4, 2011
Summary
Brodmann
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Comparative Anatomy
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Brodmann's brain maps from 1909 remain influential but their animal-human homology is unclear.
- Human area 12 (BA12), critical for understanding frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), was not identified by Brodmann in 1909.
Observation:
- A re-examination of historical and contemporary literature, including Brodmann's own work, was conducted.
- BA12 was projected onto a fixed human brain to illustrate its anatomical position.
Findings:
- Brodmann identified human BA12 in later maps (1910, 1914), not his original 1909 publication.
- Brodmann's areas, intended for comparative cytoarchitecture, are now widely used as functional loci in human brain research.
Implications:
- The historical ambiguity of BA12's identification impacts its current use in FTLD research.
- The transition of Brodmann's areas from comparative anatomy to functional localization in humans warrants careful consideration in neuroscience research.
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