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New insights into the functions of the superior temporal cortex

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 2, pages 568–576 (2001)Cite this article

Key Points

  • Damage to the right cerebral hemisphere can elicit spatial neglect — a lack of awareness of space and of object parts on the side contralateral to a brain injury. Traditionally, the inferior parietal lobule and the temporo–parieto–occipital junction have been believed to be as the neural substrates responsible for this defect.

  • New anatomical data obtained in a large group of patients who had only spatial neglect, without any further visual field defects, showed that, contrary to this belief, the superior temporal cortex seems to be the typical location in the human brain in which lesions cause spatial neglect.

  • Lesion of some subcortical structures, namely the putamen, caudate nucleus and thalamic pulvinar, can also cause spatial neglect. As these structures are extensively connected to the superior temporal cortex, it can be argued that they form a coherent cortico–subcortical network for representing spatial awareness.

  • What is the role of the intact superior temporal cortex? It has been proposed that the superior temporal cortex is a site of integration for both egocentric and object-centred reference systems. In other words, it might allow the represention of visual input in two simultaneous modes: in veridical egocentric coordinates and in normalized, within-object co-ordinates. In addition, the superior temporal cortex is involved in processing species-specific vocalizations.

  • It is conceivable that, in the course of evolution, the originally bilateral functions of the superior temporal cortex have been segregated in the human brain between the left hemisphere, which subserves language, and the right hemisphere, which mediates spatial awareness and exploration.

Abstract

One of the mysteries of the brain is the role of superior temporal cortex. Recent data have shed new light on the function of this area, supporting the idea that the rostral part of the superior temporal cortex acts as an interface between the dorsal and ventral streams of visual input processing to allow the exploration of both object-related and space-related information. The superior temporal cortex is also involved in processing species-specific vocalizations. It seems that, during evolution, the formerly bilateral functions of the superior temporal cortex have been segregated in the human brain between the left hemisphere, which subserves language, and the right hemisphere, which mediates spatial awareness and exploration.

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Figure 1: Organization of superior temporal and parietal cortex.
Figure 2: Scan paths during visual and tactile exploration of the surroundings.
Figure 3: The cortico–subcortical network that underlies spatial neglect.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie. I thank P. Thier for helpful suggestions about the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Cognitive Neurology, University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, Tübingen, D-72076, Germany

    Hans-Otto Karnath

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MIT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COGNITIVE SCIENCES

Hemispheric specialization

Object recognition, animal studies

Object recognition, human neuropsychology

Spatial perception

Visual neglect

Visual processing streams

Glossary

SPATIAL NEGLECT

A lack of awareness of space and of object parts on the side contralateral to a brain injury.

SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

A method in which images are generated by using radionuclides that emit single photons of a given energy. Images are captured at multiple positions by rotating the sensor around the subject; the three-dimensional distribution of radionuclides is then used to reconstruct the images. SPECT can be used to observe biochemical and physiological processes, as well as the size and volume of structures. Unlike positron emission tomography, SPECT requires the physical alignment of the photons for their detection, resulting in the loss of many available photons and the degradation of the image.

COLLATERAL TRIGONE

The ventricular region where the body, the posterior horn and the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle come together.

PARAFALCINE REGIONS

Cortical regions located adjacent to the falx cerebri, a sickle-shaped fold of the dura mater that dips sagittally from the skull between the cerebral hemispheres.

LESION SUBTRACTION TECHNIQUE

A means of identifying brain regions that are responsible for the expression of a particular pathological behaviour. The distribution of brain damage in patients who show the behaviour of interest is compared with that in patients who also have lesions, but who do not express this behaviour. Differences in the extent of damage provide clues about the neural substrates that underlie the behavioural abnormality.

RECEPTIVE FIELD

The area of the sensory space in which stimulus presentation leads to the response of a particular sensory neuron.

SACCADE

A rapid eye movement that brings the point of maximal visual acuity — the fovea — to the image of interest.

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Karnath, HO. New insights into the functions of the superior temporal cortex. Nat Rev Neurosci 2, 568–576 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35086057

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