The temporal pole is the front tip of each temporal lobe. It is Brodmann area 38, the temporopolar area, which lies mostly on the most forward (rostral) parts of the superior and middle temporal gyri. [1]
The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the temporal pole is and what it does.
The superior temporal and middle temporal gyri are lit together; the temporal pole is not drawn on its own. The front (coronal) slice button cuts through them. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .
Lit: the whole superior temporal and middle temporal gyri, on both sides. The area is part of these gyri; its exact border is not drawn. Area 38 lies mainly on the most forward parts of the superior and middle temporal gyri. The model has no temporal-pole shape and draws each gyrus as one shape, so both whole gyri are lit; the pole is their front end. [1][2]
Behind it, by cell layers, are inferior temporal area 20, middle temporal area 21, superior temporal area 22 and ectorhinal area 36. [1]
Studies of its cells and chemistry find at least seven sub-areas, one of which, “TG”, is found only in humans. [1]
What it does
It is a paralimbic region involved in high-level meaning (semantic representation) and in social and emotional processing. [1]
It appears to be a convergence zone where concepts stored in the lower front of the temporal lobe are given emotional significance and personal meaning. [1]
Concepts of individual people, apart from what they look like, are stored in a “face patch” in the temporal pole, found in both humans and other primates. [1]
Connections
The uncinate fasciculus, a white-matter bundle, joins it (with the front of the parahippocampal gyrus and the amygdala) to the lower frontal lobe, including the orbitofrontal cortex; this direct two-way path lets memories stored in the temporal pole bias decisions made in the frontal lobe. [3][1]
Other names
Temporal pole; Brodmann area 38, BA38 or the temporopolar area 38 (H). [1][4]
Also called the temporal polar cortex, and often grouped as the anterior temporal lobe. [3]
Size
The model has no shape for the temporal pole itself, so it is not measured here. The whole left superior temporal and middle temporal gyri that hold it measure, together, about 114 mm front to back, 51 mm top to bottom and 43 mm side to side on this model (the box they fit in, not their volume). [2]
Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); real brains vary in size and shape, so its measurements describe one model, not anyone’s brain.