Individualized sulcal and gyral cortical anatomy: A neglected concept?

Slobodan Malobabić Orcid logo ,
Slobodan Malobabić
Contact Slobodan Malobabić

Institute of Anatomy “Dr Niko Miljanić”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade , Belgrade , Serbia

Goran Spasojević Orcid logo
Goran Spasojević

Published: 27.04.2026.

Volume 54, Issue 1 (2024)

pp. 13-21;

https://doi.org/10.70949/pramed202601627M

Abstract

Future unavoidable development of individualized brain anatomy as a part of personalized medicine requires large databases from a vast number of individual brains. The simple descriptions, important in the clinic, demonstrated the wide morphological and morphometric variability of the sulci and gyri. Today, it is no longer enough, like in traditional anatomy, to simply describe one single, several, or even "all" sulcal/gyral variations in one region of the brain. Potential problems in the comprehensive analysis of their patterns with attempts to suggest further research are briefly reviewed. The medial hemispheric surface is suitable for a morphological pilot study of complete sulcal and gyral variability. Sulcal patterns should be presented in simplified linear form rather than as detailed images, and one useful simplification for analyzing gyral patterns, the essential gyral line, is described. Simultaneous investigation of gyri and sulci is recommended, but the problem is combinations of specific patterns in different percentages. Sophisticated algorithms could recognize cortical patterns and calculate their possible combinations. Anatomical terminology is an unavoidable component of these studies. Big data about variations of sulci and gyri would be useful in personalized medicine but also in genetic studies of potential laws and inheritance of their associations.

Keywords

References

1.
Spasojević G, Malobabić S, Stojanović Z, Jandrić S, Đorđević M. Digital morphometric study of the extrasulcal surface of the cingulate gyrus in man. Med Pregl. 2010;(1–2):516.
2.
Holloway R. On the Meaning of Brain Size. Science. (4137):677–9.
3.
Maliković A, Malobabić S, Filipović B. Volume changes of the human brain tissue of the orbitofrontal region during the formalin fixation. Folia Anat. 1995;36–40.
4.
Haug H. Quantitative Data in Neuroanatomy. Progress in Brain Research. Elsevier; 1970. p. 113–27.
5.
Meregalli V, Alberti F, Madan CR, Meneguzzo P, Miola A, Trevisan N, et al. Cortical complexity estimation using fractal dimension: A systematic review of the literature on clinical and nonclinical samples. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2022;55(6):1547–83.

Citation

Funding Statement

Authors have not any funding to declare.

Copyright

Article metrics

Google scholar: See link

The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Most read articles

Indexed by