Cortical area · one in each half of the brain

Superior parietal lobule

Also called SPL, Brodmann areas 5 and 7

Where your body meets space: it guides your reach and tracks your limbs.

The superior parietal lobule lit up in a 3D model of the human brain

This region sits along the top of the parietal lobe. It blends touch, body position and vision into a sense of where your body is and where things are around you. It helps steer your hand toward what you want to grab and helps you shift attention around a scene. It is a key stop on the vision pathway that answers "where is it, and how do I reach it?"

Where it is

On the top of the head, behind the touch strip, reaching up to the midline. A groove called the intraparietal sulcus separates it from the lower parietal areas below.

What it does

Reaching and grasping

It uses vision and body sense to guide your hand to a target and shape your grip before you touch it.

Your body map

It keeps an up-to-date sense of where each limb is, even when you are not looking at it.

Moving attention

It helps shift your focus from one spot to another, often together with your eye movements.

Turning things in your mind

It is active when you imagine rotating an object, like checking if a sofa will fit through a door.

Think of it as a GPS for your arms and eyes, constantly working out how to get your hand from here to there.

Works with

Primary somatosensory cortexThe touch strip in front feeds it details about touch and joint position.
Lateral occipital cortexVisual information about shapes and motion flows up from the back of the brain into this area.
Caudal middle frontal gyrusThis frontal area helps control where your eyes look, and the two work together to steer attention.
Primary motor cortexIt hands reach plans to the motor strip, which sends the actual commands to your muscles.
PrecuneusIts inner neighbor shares its maps of space and helps with imagining movements.

When it goes wrong

Optic ataxia

People can see an object clearly yet miss it when they reach for it.

Balint syndrome

When both sides of the upper parietal and nearby occipital areas are damaged, people may see only one object at a time and struggle to aim their eyes and hands.

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

Surprising facts

In monkeys trained to use a small rake, some parietal cells began to treat the rake as part of the hand. Your brain may do something similar with tools like a tennis racket.
When you shut your eyes and still know where your hand is, this area helps do that work.

Where the name comes from

"Lobule" means "small lobe" and "superior" means "upper", so this is the upper small lobe of the parietal lobe.

Learn it in a lesson

Moving and feelingThe motor and sensory strips. A short guided lesson in 3D.

Quick quiz

3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.

Which of these is a job of the superior parietal lobule?
Show the answer
Reaching and grasping. It uses vision and body sense to guide your hand to a target and shape your grip before you touch it.
The superior parietal lobule is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Parietal lobe. It belongs to the parietal lobe.
Which part fits this description? "Like a GPS for your arms and eyes, constantly working out how to get your hand from here to there."
Show the answer
Superior parietal lobule. It is the superior parietal lobule. Where your body meets space: it guides your reach and tracks your limbs.

Sources

Superior parietal lobule, Radiopaedia
Balint Syndrome, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
How is Attention Implemented in the Brain?, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience

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