From the Guidelines
The lingual gyrus plays a crucial role in visual processing, particularly in recognizing words and processing visual memories, and its damage can result in visual deficits such as color agnosia or prosopagnosia, as supported by studies on stroke patients with aphasia, where interhemispheric hyperconnectivity of the lingual gyrus was inversely correlated with the aphasia quotient 1.
Key Functions of the Lingual Gyrus
- The lingual gyrus is located in the occipital lobe, specifically on the medial surface of each cerebral hemisphere, and extends from the occipital pole forward to the parahippocampal gyrus.
- This region is especially important for color recognition, face recognition, and visual encoding of memories.
- It receives input from the retina via the visual pathway and helps transform this information into meaningful visual perceptions.
Clinical Significance
- Damage to the lingual gyrus can result in visual deficits such as color agnosia (inability to recognize colors), prosopagnosia (difficulty recognizing faces), or visual memory impairments.
- The lingual gyrus works in conjunction with other visual processing areas to create our complete visual experience and is heavily involved in reading comprehension due to its role in word recognition.
- In the context of stroke and aphasia, the lingual gyrus has been implicated in language recovery, with studies suggesting that functional connectivity and resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) may be useful biomarkers for predicting language outcome and recovery 1.
Evidence from Recent Studies
- A study published in the International Journal of Stroke found that interhemispheric rsFC was increased in the superior temporal gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the lingual gyrus in patients with lacunar stroke, and that this hyperconnectivity was inversely correlated with the aphasia quotient 1.
- Another study found that functional MRI activity in the early subacute phase showed promise as a predictor of long-term recovery when analyzed using a multivariate machine learning technique, and that the lingual gyrus was one of the key regions involved in this process 1.
From the Research
Lingual Gyrus Brain Function
- The lingual gyrus is involved in visual processing, with studies suggesting it plays a role in basic visual processing and higher-level visual functions 2, 3.
- Research has shown that the lingual gyrus is connected to other brain regions, including the fusiform gyrus, temporal lobe, and parahippocampal gyrus, through white matter tracts 4.
- The lingual gyrus has been implicated in non-visual functions, such as linguistic processing and verbal memory, particularly in individuals who have lost their visual senses 4.
Clinical Significance
- Damage to the lingual gyrus has been associated with visual memory dysfunction and impaired verbal memory 2.
- Increased functional connectivity in the lingual gyrus has been observed in patients with migraine with aura, suggesting a potential role in the initiation and propagation of the migraine aura 5.
- Neuroimaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), can be used to characterize brain networks and diagnose underlying diseases, including those affecting the lingual gyrus 6.
Neural Activity and Connectivity
- Studies have shown that the lingual gyrus exhibits activity during memory-related tasks, which can reflect non-conscious processing 3.
- The lingual gyrus is part of a larger network involved in visual processing, with connections to other brain regions, including the fusiform gyrus and temporal lobe 4.
- Abnormal resting-state visual network functional connectivity has been observed in patients with migraine with aura, with increased connectivity in the right lingual gyrus 5.