| Operculum (brain) | |
|---|---|
 Operculum | |
_section_description2.JPG) Parietal operculum (green), temporal operculum (blue), and insular cortex (brown), with red inset showing the position of the brain slice. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | operculum frontale, operculum parietale, operculum temporale |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Inhuman brain anatomy, anoperculum (Latin, meaning "little lid") (pl.:opercula), may refer to the frontal, temporal, or parietal operculum, which together cover theinsula as the opercula of insula.[1] It can also refer to the occipital operculum, part of theoccipital lobe.
The insular lobe is a portion of the cerebral cortex that hasinvaginated to lie deep within thelateral sulcus. It sits like an island (the meaning ofinsular) almost surrounded by the groove of thecircular sulcus and covered over and obscured by the insular opercula.
A part of the parietal lobe, the frontoparietal operculum, covers the upper part of the insular lobe from the front to the back.[2] The opercula lie on theprecentral andpostcentralgyri (on either side of thecentral sulcus).[3]The part of the parietal operculum that forms the ceiling of the lateral sulcus functions as thesecondary somatosensory cortex.
Normally, the insular opercula begin to develop between the 20th and the 22nd weeks of pregnancy. At weeks 14 to 16 offetal development, the insula begins toinvaginate from the surface of the immature cerebrum of the brain, until atfull term, the opercula completely cover the insula.[4] This process is calledopercularization.[5]
Opinions differ on whetherAlbert Einstein's brain possessed parietal opercula. Falk, et al. claim that the brain actually did have parietal opercula,[6] while Witelson et al. claim that it did not.[7]
Einstein's lower parietal lobe (which is involved in mathematical thought, visuospatial cognition and imagery of movement) was 15% larger than average.[8]