University of California, Berkeley.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2021 Aug 1;33(9):1698-1715. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_01696.
Stuss considered the human PFC as a "cognitive globe" [Stuss, D. T., & Benson, D. F. Neuropsychological studies of the frontal lobes. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 3-28, 1984] on which functions of the frontal lobe could be mapped. Here, we discuss classic and recent findings regarding the evolution, development, function, and cognitive role of shallow indentations or tertiary sulci in PFC, with the goal of using tertiary sulci to map the "cognitive globe" of PFC. First, we discuss lateral PFC (LPFC) tertiary sulci in classical anatomy and modern neuroimaging, as well as their development, with a focus on those within the middle frontal gyrus. Second, we discuss tertiary sulci in comparative neuroanatomy, focusing on primates. Third, we summarize recent findings showing the utility of tertiary sulci for understanding structural-functional relationships with functional network insights in ventromedial PFC and LPFC. Fourth, we revisit and update unresolved theoretical perspectives considered by C. Vogt and O. Vogt (Allgemeinere ergebnisse unserer hirnforschung. Journal für Psychologie und Neurologie, 25, 279-462, 1919) and F. Sanides (Structure and function of the human frontal lobe. Neuropsychologia, 2, 209-219, 1964) that tertiary sulci serve as landmarks for cortical gradients. Together, the consideration of these classic and recent findings indicate that tertiary sulci are situated in a unique position within the complexity of the "cognitive globe" of PFC: They are the smallest and shallowest of sulci in PFC, yet can offer insights that bridge spatial scales (microns to networks), modalities (functional connectivity to behavior), and species. As such, the map of tertiary sulci within each individual participant serves as a coordinate system specific to that individual on which functions may be further mapped. We conclude with new theoretical and methodological questions that, if answered in future research, will likely lead to mechanistic insight regarding the structure and function of human LPFC.
斯特斯认为人类 PFC 是一个“认知球体”[斯特斯，DT，&本森，DF 额叶的神经心理学研究。心理通报，95，3-28，1984]，可以在这个球体上映射额叶的功能。在这里，我们讨论了经典和最近的发现，关于 PFC 浅凹陷或三级脑沟的进化、发育、功能和认知作用，目的是使用三级脑沟来映射 PFC 的“认知球体”。首先，我们讨论了经典解剖学和现代神经影像学中的外侧 PFC（LPFC）三级脑沟及其发育，重点是在额中回内的三级脑沟。其次，我们讨论了比较神经解剖学中的三级脑沟，重点是灵长类动物。第三，我们总结了最近的发现，这些发现表明，利用三级脑沟可以了解腹内侧 PFC 和 LPFC 的结构-功能关系，并获得功能网络的见解。第四，我们重新审视和更新了由 C. Vogt 和 O. Vogt（Allgemeinere ergebnisse unserer hirnforschung. Journal für Psychologie und Neurologie，25，279-462，1919）和 F. Sanides（Structure and function of the human frontal lobe. Neuropsychologia，2，209-219，1964）提出的未解决的理论观点，即三级脑沟作为皮质梯度的标志。综上所述，这些经典和最近的发现表明，三级脑沟在 PFC 的“认知球体”的复杂性中处于独特的位置：它们是 PFC 中最小和最浅的脑沟，但可以提供跨越空间尺度（微米到网络）、模态（功能连接到行为）和物种的见解。因此，每个个体参与者的三级脑沟图作为一个特定于该个体的坐标系，可以进一步映射功能。我们最后提出了新的理论和方法问题，如果在未来的研究中得到回答，可能会导致对人类 LPFC 结构和功能的机制性洞察。
