Brain partitioning is not the key to function! Science cover 4 articles published in a row: Wisdom is born from the connection between brain areas

It’s time to re-understand the working principle of our brain!

The latest top issue of Science publishes 4 papers in a special issue, all focusing on the same core point:

The key to various functions of the brain does not lie in the independent completion of each brain area. Specific functions lie in the connection and communication between different areas.

This view basically overturns a widely circulated statement:

People who are good at left-brain thinking have stronger mathematical and logical abilities; People with a developed right brain are more creative.

Dr. Peter Stern, senior editor of Science, emphasized the importance of brain connections in his introduction to this issue:

Without smoothly running connections, the brain is nothing more than a bunch of neurons.

also summed up a golden sentence: "No neuroan is an island" (No neuron is an island).

So, what do these 4 articles say?

Look down.

“Connection” is the key to brain function

The first article: “Connection” is the core of the brain

The first article is called The emergent properties of the connected brain , which proposes the core keyword of the entire special issue, connection.

Two neuroscience researchers from Bordeaux, France believe that:

The connection of the brain is not just the transmission of signals between various brain areas, but also the relationship between behavior and Cognition also emerges from interactions between cortical areas.

Behind it is a sophisticated network that connects the "local" and "remote" areas into a whole.

Researchers describe this kind of connection and collaboration as: by connecting many areas of the brain with brain circuits, an entire network is created to orchestrate a symphony in the brain.

In the past, the more mainstream statement was that we assumed that the brain works in different regions. However, researchers believe that it will be impossible for multiple regions to work together to realize the cognition of complex things, and it will be even more difficult to generate wisdom.

In the field of neuroscience, there is a growing consensus that the realization of a certain function comes from the interaction and cooperation between various regions.

Take chat as an example. When we communicate, we need to quickly understand the meaning of the context and context, and at the same time, we must comprehensively consider the emotional intentions of the other party. This cannot be solved in a modular way.

On the other hand, if related diseases in the brain lead to disconnection, it will lead to the breakdown of cognitive functions. Such as loss of connection to the language network resulting in language barriers.

Also worthy of our attention is that the connection configuration in the brain is not immutable.

Environment and learned behaviors induce plasticity mechanisms, and these changes will occur over weeks, months, years, and even decades.

Second article: "Scale" is very important

If the first review sets the tone for "brain connection", then the second article further proposes research and thinking on it Discussion of dimensions.

The title also corresponds to it, Scale matters: The nested human connectome.

In this article, the researcher proposed the term connectome to describe neurons and brain regions.

Talking about the necessity of introducing new concepts, they believe that this is the basis for understanding brain dynamics and related functions.

The authors added that the scale ranges from macroscopic to cellular and even molecular levels. Similar ideas have been applied in previous studies of dysfunction. This time, scientists drew on the methods and ideas of their predecessors.

In terms of practical operation, the study also demonstrated in the review the application of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), tractography and other technologies in the study of brain connections. They also used machine learning and simulation methods. Results for cases where experimental data are missing are predicted.

△ Diffusion MRI and tractography

Part 3: Studying the connection mechanism from a pathological perspective

Department of Neuroscience, Stanford University The researchers discussed the issues of brain circuit function and disorders, and shared the research progress of brain dysfunction from the pathological and therapeutic levels.

They constructed a brain dynamic model to understand the whole-brain circuit mechanism of neurological diseases and predict the results of therapeutic intervention.

In terms of implementation, the researchers used optogenetic functional magnetic resonance imaging (ofMRI) and combined it with computational modeling.

ofMRI is a new technology that combines the high spatial resolution of high-field magnetic resonance imaging with the high precision of optogenetic stimulation to investigate the precise functional connections of neural circuits throughout the brain.

Computational modeling of the obtained MRI signals can quantitatively describe the specificity of cell types at different regional levels, as well as the specific manifestation of macroscopic functions on single cells.

Researchers believe that these results can pave the way for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and the development of systems engineering methods to restore brain function in the future.

Article 4: Summary of how to draw connection diagrams

This review summarizes "How to draw neural connection diagrams for rodent brains", as well as data analysis solutions based on the atlas, and discusses the future development direction of this field.

The two authors are from the University of Oslo, a top university in Norway.

They pointed out that there are currently several technologies for mapping neural connections, among which the "3D Digital Brain Atlas" is the most effective in assisting researchers in exploring and understanding the organization and function of the brain.

Researchers can use tools to register different types of data into atlases, and run computers for subsequent automatic analysis of large data sets, greatly speeding up the integration work.

Finally, I quote the author of one of the papers: Stephanie Forkel, a neuroscientist at Radboud University, to summarize the significance of understanding brain function from the perspective of "connection":

In the classic view The modular brain has an obvious flaw, that is, it cannot explain the differences between people.

Using new network methods, scientists can model the brain specificity of different individuals, explore the personalities of different human brains, and help develop more effective clinical treatment plans.

Reference link:

[1]https://www.science.org/toc/science/current

[2]https://www.ru. nl/en/research/research-news/new-view-on-the-brain-its-all-in-the-connections

[3]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/ s/3rO10ilXlMsNtexiayziNw

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