Cortical area · one in each half of the brain

Pars orbitalis

Also called Part of Brodmann area 47, Orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus

The lowest front corner of the language area: meaning, rhythm and emotion in words.

Open in 3D

The pars orbitalis is the front, lowest part of the inferior frontal gyrus, curving underneath toward the eye socket. It sits right next to Broca's area and joins in when you work out what words and sentences mean. Studies suggest it also responds to the structure of music and the emotional tone of voices, and it blends into the orbitofrontal cortex, a bridge between language and feeling.

Where it is

At the front and bottom of the inferior frontal gyrus, just in front of Broca's area, where the side of the frontal lobe curves under toward the eye socket.

What it does

Think of it as the meaning desk of the language department: when a sentence arrives, it helps figure out what it is really saying.

Works with

• Pars triangularisIts neighbor behind it works with it to fetch the right words and their meanings.
• Lateral orbitofrontal cortexIt blends into this area underneath, linking language to value and decision making.
• Uncinate fasciculusThis hook-shaped fiber bundle ties it to the front of the temporal lobe, where concepts are stored.
• Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculusThis long cable links it with the back of the brain as part of a pathway for meaning.
• Middle temporal gyrusIt works with this temporal area, a store of word meanings, to understand language.

When it goes wrong

For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.

Surprising facts

• A 2011 brain-scan study found that the inferior frontal cortex, which includes this area, tracks the timing structure of music as well as speech, suggesting the two share some brain machinery.
• It is the part of the inferior frontal gyrus that curves onto the underside of the brain, making it a bridge between the language areas and the orbitofrontal cortex.

Where the name comes from

Latin for "the orbital part", because this part of the inferior frontal gyrus bends underneath toward the orbit, or eye socket.

Sources

1. Pars orbitalis, Radiopaedia
2. Decoding Temporal Structure in Music and Speech Relies on Shared Brain Resources but Elicits Different Fine-Scale Spatial Patterns, Cerebral Cortex (Oxford Academic)
3. Specific Brain Networks during Explicit and Implicit Decoding of Emotional Prosody, Cerebral Cortex (Oxford Academic)

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