Temporals

T5 and T6 are on the equator that runs around the circumference of the head from the middle of the valley that crosses the forehead above the supra-orbital ridge, just touching the top of the left and right ears and running through Oz (about 1.5 inches above the inion). They are 70% of the total distance from Fpz to Oz on that line back from Fpz. T3 and T4 are 50% of the distance and Oz is 100% of the distance. If you use the hand-measuring technique I teach, you can find them quite easily, or you can use a tape-measure.

They are great sites for learning disability and sensory integration issues.

Auditory processing is done in the temporal sites, around T5 and T6.

The amygdala and hippocampus–main emotional and memory structures inside the temporal lobes on each side–handle different functions: left side handles declarative memory–the narrative of what happened–and right side handles feeling-tone memory–how I felt about what happened. When trauma is abusive (someone/something comes across the line between their space and mine aggressively and I can’t stop it) the narrative memory can get lost in dissociation (delta) while the feeling tone becomes super strong. When something triggers the memory module, the right side fires strongly (hippocampus enervated by the amygdala which triggers the fight/flight response, activates the right temporal lobe while the left is still “in the dark”.) If the trauma is neglective (I needed something and it wasn’t able to get it), the narrative memory remains but the emotional response (which is “cold” rather than hot) is relatively inactive. So the left side activates, and the right does not.

Spelling and the Temporals. In terms specifically of spelling, spell PIT.  The Posterior Inferior Temporal area on the left (Brodmann’s area 37) is heavily involved in spelling.  It is an area toward the back of the temporal lobe where it links with the occipital (linking visual and auditory in complex language processing).  T5 would be the closest site here.  Certainly, when you do any assessment on a person with learning issues, T5 and T6 are a good optional site pair to include.