Cerebral hemisphere

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Cerebellar hemisphere.
Cerebral hemisphere
Human brain seen from front.
  Right cerebral hemisphere
  Left cerebral hemisphere
Details
Identifiers
Latinhemisphaerium cerebri
NeuroNames241
NeuroLex IDbirnlex_1796
TA98A14.1.09.002
TA25418
FMA61817
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

The

eutherian (placental) mammals, the hemispheres are linked by the corpus callosum, a very large bundle of nerve fibers. Smaller commissures, including the anterior commissure, the posterior commissure and the fornix
, also join the hemispheres and these are also present in other vertebrates. These commissures transfer information between the two hemispheres to coordinate localized functions.

There are three known poles of the cerebral hemispheres: the occipital pole, the frontal pole, and the temporal pole.

The central sulcus is a prominent fissure which separates the parietal lobe from the frontal lobe and the primary motor cortex from the primary somatosensory cortex.

Macroscopically the hemispheres are roughly mirror images of each other, with only subtle differences, such as the Yakovlevian torque seen in the human brain, which is a slight warping of the right side, bringing it just forward of the left side. On a microscopic level, the cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex, shows the functions of cells, quantities of neurotransmitter levels and receptor subtypes to be markedly asymmetrical between the hemispheres.[1][2]
However, while some of these hemispheric distribution differences are consistent across human beings, or even across some species, many observable distribution differences vary from individual to individual within a given species.

Structure

Each cerebral hemisphere has an outer layer of

lateral ventricles, the basal ganglia, and the white matter.[4]

Poles

Poles of cerebral hemispheres

There are three poles of the cerebrum: the occipital pole, the frontal pole, and the temporal pole. The occipital pole is the posterior end of each occipital lobe in each hemisphere. It is more pointed than the rounder frontal pole. The frontal pole is at the frontmost part of the frontal lobe in each hemisphere, and is more rounded than the occipital pole. The temporal pole is located between the frontal and occipital poles, and sits in the anterior part of middle cranial fossa in each temporal lobe.[5]

Composition

If the upper part of either hemisphere is removed, at a level about 1.25 cm above the corpus callosum, the central white matter will be exposed as an oval-shaped area, the centrum semiovale, surrounded by a narrow convoluted margin of gray substance, and studded with numerous minute red dots (puncta vasculosa), produced by the escape of blood from divided blood vessels.[citation needed]

If the remaining portions of the hemispheres be slightly drawn apart a broad band of white substance, the corpus callosum, will be observed, connecting them at the bottom of the longitudinal fissure; the margins of the hemispheres which overlap the corpus callosum are called the labia cerebri.[6]

Each labium is part of the cingulate gyrus already described; and the groove between it and the upper surface of the corpus callosum is termed the

callosal sulcus
.

If the hemispheres are sliced off to a level with the upper surface of the corpus callosum, the white substance of that structure will be seen connecting the two hemispheres.

The large expanse of medullary matter now exposed, surrounded by the convoluted margin of gray substance, is called the centrum semiovale. The blood supply to the centrum semiovale is from the superficial middle cerebral artery.[3] The cortical branches of this artery descend to provide blood to the centrum semiovale.[7]

Development

The cerebral hemispheres are derived from the

conception as bilateral invaginations
of the walls. The hemispheres grow round in a C-shape and then back again, pulling all structures internal to the hemispheres (such as the ventricles) with them. The
lateral ventricles
. The
vascular mesenchyme.[citation needed
]

Function

Hemisphere lateralization

Main article: Lateralization of brain function

Broad generalizations are often made in popular psychology about certain functions (e.g. logic, creativity) being lateralized, that is, located in the right or left side of the brain. These claims are often inaccurate, as most brain functions are actually distributed across both hemispheres. Most scientific evidence for asymmetry relates to low-level perceptual functions rather than the higher-level functions popularly discussed (e.g. subconscious processing of grammar, not "logical thinking" in general).[8][9] In addition to this lateralization of some functions, the low-level representations also tend to represent the contralateral side of the body.

The best example of an established lateralization is that of Broca's and Wernicke's Areas (

accentuation, and prosody, has since been called into question and largely been found to have a neuronal basis in both hemispheres.[10][11]

Cerebral hemispheres of a human embryo at 8 weeks.

Perceptual information is processed in both hemispheres, but is laterally partitioned: information from each side of the body is sent to the opposite hemisphere (visual information is partitioned somewhat differently, but still lateralized). Similarly, motor control signals sent out to the body also come from the hemisphere on the opposite side. Thus, hand preference (which hand someone prefers to use) is also related to hemisphere lateralization.[citation needed]

In some aspects, the hemispheres are asymmetrical; the right side is slightly bigger. There are higher levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine on the right and higher levels of dopamine on the left. The right hemisphere is more sensitive to testosterone. There is more white matter (longer axons) on the right and more grey matter (cell bodies) on the left.[12]

holistic reasoning functions of language such as intonation and emphasis are often lateralized to the right hemisphere of the brain. Other integrative functions such as intuitive or heuristic arithmetic, binaural sound localization, etc. seem to be more bilaterally controlled.[13]

Clinical significance

Infarcts of the centrum ovale can occur.[3]

As a treatment for epilepsy the corpus callosum may be severed to cut the major connection between the hemispheres in a procedure known as a corpus callosotomy.

A

seizures
which are unresponsive to other treatments.

Additional images

  • The sheep brain seen from the back. Opening longitudinal fissure which separates left and right cerebral hemispheres.
    The sheep brain seen from the back. Opening longitudinal fissure which separates left and right cerebral hemispheres.
  • Lateral surface. (The frontal pole is approximately at 10, the occipital pole is approximately at 17, and the temporal pole is approximately at 38.)
    Lateral surface. (The frontal pole is approximately at 10, the occipital pole is approximately at 17, and the temporal pole is approximately at 38.)

References

  1. PMID 9010002
    .
  2. S2CID 15968665
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 219195107
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-7817-9427-5
    .
  5. ISBN 978-81-312-3727-4
    .
  6. ISBN 9781317705703
    . Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. PMID 16291890
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-470-80552-7
    .
  9. ^ "Neuromyth 6: The left brain/ right brain myth". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  10. S2CID 16060074
    .
  11. PMID 26766393
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-520-22461-2
    .
  13. PMID 10320379
    .
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cerebral hemispheres.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cerebral_hemisphere&oldid=1207453533"