Corpus callosum morphology and intelligence

The corpus callosum is the largest fibre tract in the human brain and connects homologous areas of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. The corpus callosum plays an important role in integrating information between the cerebral hemispheres, and is thought to contribute to the allocation of attention between the hemispheres and in maintaining hemispheric arousal. Recently, the size of posterior regions of the corpus callosum has been found to be related to intelligence in a group of healthy adults (Luders et al., 2007) with larger callosal area related to higher intelligence. The current study investigated the relationship between the morphology of the corpus callosum and IQ in a sample of individuals in their late teens and early 20s because recent evidence suggests that maturation of white matter tracts continues through the 20s (Barnea-Goraly et al., 2005; Sowell et al., 2003). Area measurements of seven sub-sections of the corpus callosum, as defined by Witelson (1989), were obtained at the midsagittal slice and correlated with Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence scores, while controlling for overall brain volume. The relationship between IQ and callosal size held for individuals in this age range as well, providing further evidence for the relationship between callosal morphology and cognitive task performance.Amanda Hutchinson, Benjamin Jacobson, Luka Ruzik, Jane Mathias, Marie Banic

Anatomical variation of co-existing bilaminar tensor of the vastus intermedius muscle and new type of sixth head of the quadriceps femoris

Background: We present a case report of Quadriceps Femoris (QF) with co-existing bilaminar Tensor of the vastus intermedius muscle (TVI) and new type of sixth head. Materials and methods: Cadaveric dissection of left thigh of a 72 years old was performed for research and teaching purposes at the Department of Anatomical Dissection and Donation, Medical University of Lodz. The left lower limb were dissected using standard techniques according to a strictly specified protocol. Each head of the muscle was photographed and subjected to further measurement. Results: During dissection, an unusual type of TVI muscle was observed. It consisted of two surfaces, superficial and deep. In addition sixth head of QF muscle grew out from the VM muscle. Conclusions: The knowledge of the existence and possible variations of additional heads of QF muscle is necessary during diagnostic process of muscle strains. Moreover, according to course of tendons that heads may take part in patella stabilization