PSY 448 Clinical Neuropsychology	Last revised: 09/11/2023
Brodmann's Cytoarchitectonic Map

The Problem Solved by Dr. Korbinian Brodmann (1868-1918)

The rapid development of neurology and psychiatry in the second half of the 19th and early part of the 20th century presented researchers with a significant problem in communication. There were agreed-upon terms for the major lobes and gyri of the human cerebral cortex. However, there remained a difficulty in identifying subregions of the cortex in a way which would be understood by scientists in different nations who spoke different languages. The work of Korbinian Brodmann helped to settle that problem.

Brodmann examined the cellular and laminar structure of the human cortex and the cortical tissue of other animals. Eventually he published his important monograph on the cytoarchitectonic structure of the human cortex in 1909. Dr. Laurence Garey (1994) notes:

The basis of Brodmann's cortical localisation is its subdivision into 'areas' with similar cellular and laminar structure. He compared localisation in the human cortex with that in a number of other mammals, including primates, rodents and marsupials. In man, he distinguished 47 areas, each carrying an individual number, and some being further subdivided. [Ed.- The number of areas that Brodmann identified in the human brain has been variously said to be 47, 48, and 52. The differences arise from the fact that Brodmann revised his original 1909 data in 1910 and 1914 (see Zilles, 2018 and Judaš et al., 2012).]

Brodmann's numbering of these cortical locations has become one of the standard ways in which clinician identify brain areas. These are generally known as "Brodmann Areas" (BA) and will often be cited in texts, for example, as "in BA 45 and 46...". It is presumed that the informed reader will know already or have access to a map of these areas (see below):

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References:

Garey, L. J. (1994). Korbinian Brodmann (1868-1918). [Online]. Downloaded 4/24/05 from the Web site: http://www.korbinian-brodmann.de

Garey, L. J. (Ed. & Transl.). (1999). Brodmann's 'Localisation in the cerebral cortex' [Translation of Vergleichende Lokalisationslehre der Grosshirnrinde in ihren Prinzipien dargestellt auf Grund des Zellenbaues]. London: Imperial College Press. Brodmann's original work published 1909. [Link to publisher]

Judaš, M., Cepanec, M. & Sedmak, G. (2012) Brodmann’s map of the human cerebral cortex — or Brodmann’s maps?. Translational Neuroscience, 3, 67–74. https://doi.org/10.2478/s13380-012-0009-x [A version of this article is available at https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2478/s13380-012-0009-x/pdf]

Nagel, M. (2001). Zum Gedenken an Prof. Dr. Korbinian Brodmann [Online]. Accessed 4/25/05 at the Web site: http://www.korbinian-brodmann.de/

Zilles (2018) Brodmann: a pioneer of human brain mapping—his impact on concepts of cortical organization. Brain, 141, 3262-3278. https://doi.org/:10.1093/brain/awy273