Cortical area · one in each half of the brain
Middle temporal gyrus
Also called MTG, Brodmann area 21
A storehouse of word meanings, and near its back, a hub for seeing motion.
The middle of the three ridges along the side of the temporal lobe. It is closely tied to meaning: it helps you pull up what words mean and link them to what you know. Its back part helps you understand actions and tools. Toward its back end, near the occipital lobe, lies a region that specializes in seeing motion.
Where it is
On the side of the temporal lobe, the middle of three horizontal ridges, roughly at the level of your ear.
What it does
Word meanings
It helps retrieve the meaning of words you hear or read.
Understanding sentences
It helps combine words into the meaning of a whole sentence.
Actions and tools
Its back part seems to hold knowledge about how tools are used and what actions look like.
Seeing motion
Toward the back, at the border with the occipital lobe, nearby cortex specializes in seeing things move.
Think of it as a dictionary shelf: hear the word "hammer", and it pulls down everything you know about hammers.
Works with
- Superior temporal gyrusThe hearing ridge above passes it speech sounds, and the MTG attaches meaning to them.
- Pars triangularisThis frontal area helps pick the right meaning when a word has more than one, like "bank".
- Angular gyrus regionTogether they link words to concepts and knowledge.
- Inferior temporal gyrusThe ridge below helps recognize objects, which the MTG links to their names and uses.
- Lateral occipital cortexAt the border between them lies the brain's main area for seeing motion.
When it goes wrong
Losing word meanings
Damage here, especially on the left, can make it hard to understand words, even though the person can still repeat them.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- A study of stroke patients found that damage to the back of the left middle temporal gyrus disrupted understanding of spoken sentences, while damage to the classic Wernicke's area did not, at least on that test.
- Reading or hearing a word like "kick" or "grab" can activate this area even when you are not moving at all.
Where the name comes from
Named simply for its position as the middle ridge of the temporal lobe, between the superior and inferior temporal gyri.
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the middle temporal gyrus?
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Word meanings. It helps retrieve the meaning of words you hear or read.
Word meanings. It helps retrieve the meaning of words you hear or read.
The middle temporal gyrus is part of which larger structure?
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Temporal lobe. It belongs to the temporal lobe.
Temporal lobe. It belongs to the temporal lobe.
Which part fits this description? "Like a dictionary shelf: hear the word "hammer", and it pulls down everything you know about hammers."
Show the answer
Middle temporal gyrus. It is the middle temporal gyrus. A storehouse of word meanings, and near its back, a hub for seeing motion.
Middle temporal gyrus. It is the middle temporal gyrus. A storehouse of word meanings, and near its back, a hub for seeing motion.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Middle temporal gyrus, Radiopaedia
- Physiology, Cerebral Cortex Functions, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
- Extrastriate Cortex, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
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Explore the middle temporal gyrus in 3D
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