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Superior Temporal Sulcus

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

STS

Definition

The superior temporal sulcus is a long furrow within the temporal lobes. It is functionally related mainly with speech and social perception. Its anterior and posterior ends are highly associative areas dealing with higher-level processes contributing to recognition, understanding, and reasoning about oneself and others.

Introduction

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) is a long surface of grey matter folded to form a trench dividing the superior and middle temporal gyri – two rounded ridges on the cortical surface. The STS is located both in right and left cerebral hemisphere, and its length corresponds to approximately half of the cerebral cortex’s length. Due to its size, its bilaterality, and its multiple connectivity nodes, the STS is attributed to numerous (and partially still debated) functions. In light of this complexity, the present entry therefore focuses on the well-evidenced functions, with an emphasis on the linguistic and social aspects, as they...

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Correspondence to Claus Lamm .

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Bukowski, H., Lamm, C. (2020). Superior Temporal Sulcus. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_463

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