Anatomy of the Cortex: Statistics and Geometry (Studies of Brain Function)

Anatomical research on the cerebral cortex, which has been undertaken by the Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, is interpeted and summarized in this text. By means of quantitative analysis of the tissue components, it presents an overall picture of the cortical network, which is then related to various theories on cortical function. While most other publications in this field support the concept of cortical circuits, this particular work is centered around the idea of a diffuse network in a fairly homogeneous population of excitatory neurons, that of the pyramidal cells. It shows that the whole organization in the cortical "skeleton" of pyramidal cells corresponds well to the idea of an associative memory and to the theory of cell assemblies. A similar theory also applies to a small proportion of inhibitory interneurons in the cortex. The theoretical points are made on the basis of experimental results. The reader not only obtains knowledge about quantitative neuroanatomy, but also details of methods used, particularly those varying from the standard.