Brodmann Areas

The early brain map that keeps on giving.

Chances are, if you’re curious about the brain, neuroscience, or cognition, you’ll eventually come across Brodmann Areas as a reference or part of some other system or brain-related explanation. Here, we’ll take a closer look at them with an eye towards their functions.

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The basics

For the newcomer, Brodmann areas are a system of defining and mapping specific regions of the human brain based on the structure of the cerebral cortex, specifically the cytoarchitecture or types, density and connections of neurons in any given area.

This mapping was first proposed by German neuroanatomist Korbinian Brodmann in 1909. The Brodmann areas are divided into 52 different regions, each of which is thought to have a unique function, here’s the original illustration with the numbered areas:

Source: Public domain, see here.

Yes but no…

Like many science-related things, time has had both good and bad effects on early maps. On one hand, the areas have been subdivided and boundaries refined. We…