In the human brain the Pars opercularis (literally "the part that covers") is the part of the inferior frontal gyrus that lies between the inferior precentral sulcus and the ascending ramus of the lateral sulcus. It is called opercularis because it covers part of the insula. The pars opercularis together with the pars triangularis form Broca's area.

Relationship to autism

Abnormal blood flow in the Pars opercularis has been shown to be an indicator for autism. Previous theories had tied autism to abnormalities in the cerebellum, due to the fascination with spinning exhibited by autistic children. 1

"Neuroscientist Mirella Dapretto of the University of California Los Angeles and her colleagues surveyed the brains of 10 autistic children and an equal number of nonautistic children as they watched and imitated 80 different faces displaying either anger, fear, happiness, sadness or no emotion. By measuring the amount of blood flow (Blood-oxygen-level dependent) to certain regions of the children's brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, the researchers could determine what parts of the brain were being used as the subjects completed the tasks. The autistic children differed from their peers in only one respect: each showed reduced activity in the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus--a brain region located near the temple." 2^[1]

References

1. ↑ Dapretto M, Davies MS, Pfeifer JH, et al. (January 2006). "Understanding emotions in others: mirror neuron dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorders". Nat. Neurosci. 9 (1): 28–30. doi:10.1038/nn1611. PMID 16327784. 

See also

• Broca's area
• Operculum (brain)

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