Morphological patterns and spatial probability maps of the inferior frontal sulcus in the human brain

Abstract

The inferior frontal sulcus (ifs) is a prominent sulcus on the lateral frontal cortex, separating the middle frontal gyrus from the inferior frontal gyrus. The morphology of the ifs can be difficult to distinguish from adjacent sulci, which are often misidentified as continuations of the ifs. The morphological variability of the ifs and its relationship to surrounding sulci were examined in 40 healthy human subjects (i.e., 80 hemispheres). The sulci were identified and labeled on the native cortical surface meshes of individual subjects, permitting proper intra-sulcal assessment. Two main morphological patterns of the ifs were identified across hemispheres: in Type I, the ifs was a single continuous sulcus, and in Type II, the ifs was discontinuous and appeared in two segments. The morphology of the ifs could be further subdivided into nine subtypes based on the presence of anterior and posterior sulcal extensions. The ifs was often observed to connect, either superficially or completely, with surrounding sulci, and seldom appeared as an independent sulcus. The spatial variability of the ifs and its various morphological configurations were quantified in the form of surface spatial probability maps which are made publicly available in the standard fsaverage space. These maps demonstrated that the ifs generally occupied a consistent position across hemispheres and across individuals. The normalized mean sulcal depths associated with the main morphological types were also computed. The present study provides the first detailed description of the ifs as a sulcal complex composed of segments and extensions that can be clearly differentiated from adjacent sulci. These descriptions, together with the spatial probability maps, are critical for the accurate identification of the ifs in anatomical and functional neuroimaging studies investigating the structural characteristics and functional organization of this region in the human brain.