Much about the brain remains a mystery, but scientists have long believed that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are the result of billions of interconnected neurons that send signals to each other. , which has been speculated to allow communication between brain regions.
but, study A paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature challenges that idea, instead arguing that the shape of the brain—its size, curves and grooves—is more important than the connections and signals between neurons to how we think, how we think, and how we think. It was suggested that there is a possibility of having a great influence on the way of feeling and behavior.
The Australian research team reached this conclusion after performing MRI scans of the brains of 255 people while participants performed tasks such as tapping a finger or recalling a series of images. From there, the team examined her 10,000 different maps of brain activity in people collected from more than 1,000 experiments he conducted around the world to further assess the role of brain shape.
They then created a computer model to simulate how the size and shape of the brain affects waves of electrical activity known as electroencephalograms. They compared that model to existing computer models of brain activity that are closely consistent with our understanding of neuronal connectivity as the driving force of brain function.
Comparison results showed that the new model provided a more accurate reconstruction of brain activity shown in MRI scans and brain activity maps than the previous model.
James Pang, lead author of the study and a researcher at Monash University in Australia, likened the importance of brain shape to pebbles that make ripples in a pond. The size and shape of a pond help determine the nature of its ripples.
“Geometric shapes are very important because they guide what waves look like, and it has to do with activity patterns that people see when they perform different tasks. ‘ said Pang.
Theories about brain shape have been emerging for more than a decade, said David Van Essen, a professor of neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis. But most researchers still believe in the classic hypothesis, he said. In other words, each of the brain’s nearly 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells, has an axon that acts like a wire that carries information to other neurons, enabling brain activity.
“The basic starting hypothesis is that the wiring of the brain is central to understanding brain function,” Van Essen said.
Pan said his research does not downplay the importance of communication between neurons. Rather, it has been suggested that brain shape plays a more important role in brain function.
“What this study shows is that shape has a stronger impact, but that’s not to say connectivity doesn’t matter,” he says.
Pang also pointed out that the shape of the brain hypothesis has its merits. Thus, careful attention to brain size and curvature could open up new avenues for research, as brain shape is easier to measure than brain wiring.
One topic worth investigating, he said, is the possible role of brain shape in the development of psychiatric and neurological disorders.
In theory, the speed at which traveling waves spread to different areas of the brain could affect how people process information, Pan said. That in turn may contribute to patterns of brain activity associated with diseases such as schizophrenia and depression.
But not all scientists are convinced by the new research. Van Essen, for example, remains skeptical.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a controversial theory that really needs to be put through its paces to critically assess whether it stands the test of time,” he said.
Van Essen raised some concerns about the study, including the fact that the researchers’ models were based on average brain shapes of participants. According to Van Essen, this approach masks dramatic differences in surface fold patterns from one brain to another.
But Pang said that even after analyzing brain shape at the individual level, the results were “still robust.”
Van Essen also warned that MRI is an imperfect tool and may not reliably capture the nature of the brain’s wiring.
“While exciting and informative, MRI technology is still fundamentally imprecise and incomplete, and leaves much to be clarified for future research,” he said.
Pan said his research was inconclusive, but said the new research “strengthens the theory” that brain shape, rather than neuron wiring, has a greater impact on brain activity. added.
“We are pretty confident that the impact is real,” he said.
