BRODMANN REVISITED
» The Eye Institute of the National Institute of Health sponsors a new map of the cortical surface, starting from the back of the brain...
This is one of our main research projects. The study investigates the elusive relationship between structure and function in the cerebral cortex, the convoluted mantle of grey matter that wraps the surface of the brain. We review the work of classical brain cartographers of the early Twentieth Century, and we use high-resolution MRI and computer-controlled microscopes to recreate these maps of the brain surface digitally, in 3-D and with new statistical power. Our project proposes to do for the surface of the brain the type of mapping by images that Google Earth is doing for the surface of the planet.
In fact, even though researchers have gathered very complex data describing where and how the brain activates in response to specific tasks, we do not know how these functional images relate to the underlying structure of the brain. In other words, while we are beginning to understand the global ‘economic’ map of the brain surface, we do not know how many cortical ‘countries’ participate in the commerce of information, what they really look like, and what their geographical boundaries are.
Humans are highly visual animals, so a large expanse of the cerebral cortex is dedicated to processing visual information. The visual cortex is also one of the most studied areas of the brain. Visual areas are mainly located in the posterior lobes of the brain, so we have begun our ‘geographical survey’ at the occipital poles, moving steadily towards the front of the brain.
