The 'connectome' of our cerebral cortex

Hagmann et al. use diffusion mapping techniques to provide some awesome summary graphics of connectivity networks of our cerebral cortex. Regions of the neocortex are linked by a dense network of neural pathways, with several distinct nodes, like airline hubs. Their data:

...provides evidence for the existence of a structural core in human cerebral cortex. This complex of densely connected regions in posterior medial and parietal cortex is both spatially and topologically central within the brain. Its anatomical correspondence with regions of high metabolic activity and with some elements of the human default network suggests that the core may be an important structural basis for shaping large-scale brain dynamics. The availability of single-participant structural and functional connection maps now provides the opportunity to investigate interparticipant connectional variability and to relate it to differences in individual functional connectivity and behavior.

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