neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

, the parieto-occipital sulcus (also called the parieto-occipital fissure) is a deep sulcus in the

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...

that marks the boundary between the

cuneus The cuneus (; plural cunei) is a smaller lobe in the occipital lobe of the brain. The cuneus is bounded anteriorly by the parieto-occipital sulcus and inferiorly by the calcarine sulcus. Function The cuneus (Brodmann area 17) receives visua ...

and

precuneus In neuroanatomy, the precuneus is the portion of the superior parietal lobule on the medial surface of each brain hemisphere. It is located in front of the cuneus (the upper portion of the occipital lobe). The precuneus is bounded in front by th ...

, and also between the parietal and

occipital lobe The occipital lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The name derives from its position at the back of the head, from the Latin ''ob'', "behind", and ''caput'', "head". The occipital lobe is the vi ...

s. Only a small part can be seen on the lateral surface of the hemisphere, its chief part being on the medial surface. The lateral part of the parieto-occipital sulcus (Fig. 726) is situated about 5 cm in front of the

occipital pole The vertebrate cerebrum (brain) is formed by two cerebral hemispheres that are separated by a groove, the longitudinal fissure. The brain can thus be described as being divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres. Each of these hemispheres ...

of the hemisphere, and measures about 1.25 cm. in length. The medial part of the parieto-occipital sulcus (Fig. 727) runs downward and forward as a deep cleft on the medial surface of the hemisphere, and joins the

calcarine fissure The calcarine sulcus (or calcarine fissure) is an anatomical landmark located at the caudal end of the medial surface of the brain of humans and other primates. Its name comes from the Latin "calcar" meaning "spur". It is very deep, and known as ...

below and behind the posterior end of the

corpus callosum The corpus callosum (Latin for "tough body"), also callosal commissure, is a wide, thick nerve tract, consisting of a flat bundle of commissural fibers, beneath the cerebral cortex in the brain. The corpus callosum is only found in placental m ...

. In most cases, it contains a submerged

gyrus In neuroanatomy, a gyrus (pl. gyri) is a ridge on the cerebral cortex. It is generally surrounded by one or more sulci (depressions or furrows; sg. ''sulcus''). Gyri and sulci create the folded appearance of the brain in humans and other ...

Function

The parieto-occipital lobe has been found in various neuroimaging studies, including

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

(positron-emission-tomography) studies, and

SPECT Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT, or less commonly, SPET) is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays. It is very similar to conventional nuclear medicine planar imaging using a gamma camera (that is, ...

(single-photon emission computed tomography) studies, to be involved along with the

dorsolateral prefrontal cortex The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC or DL-PFC) is an area in the prefrontal cortex of the primate brain. It is one of the most recently derived parts of the human brain. It undergoes a prolonged period of maturation which lasts until adultho ...

during

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

Gallery

File:Parieto-occipital sulcus animation small.gif, Animation of left

cerebral hemisphere The vertebrate cerebrum (brain) is formed by two cerebral hemispheres that are separated by a groove, the longitudinal fissure. The brain can thus be described as being divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres. Each of these hemispheres ...

. Parieto-occipital sulcus shown in red. File:LobesCaptsMedial1.png, Medial surface of right hemisphere. Parieto-occipital sulcus labeled at top right as "*" File:Human Brain Dissected.jpg, Medial surface of left hemisphere. Parieto-occipital sulcus visible at top left. File:Cerebral Hemisphere Demonstration - Sanjoy Sanyal - Neuroscience Lab Fall 2013 (cropped from 2m36s to 4m40s) - Parietooccipital sulcus.webm, Human brain dissection video (1 min 52 sec). Demonstrating location of parieto-occipital sulcus of left cerebral hemisphere.

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20070316043257/http://www2.umdnj.edu/~neuro/studyaid/Practical2000/Q30.htm {{Authority control Sulci (neuroanatomy) Articles containing video clips Medial surface of cerebral hemisphere