INM-6 Seminar: Talk by Professor Almut Schüz

Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik, Tübingen, Germany

Quantitative aspects of cortico-cortical connections, with special reference to the cortical white matter

The most characteristic feature of the cerebral cortex is its rich connectivity in itself, based predominantly on excitatory connections. These are comprised of short- and middle-range connections within the grey matter and long-range connections via the white matter. Here I will mainly deal with the long-range connections. I will show data on the global connectivity of the mouse cortex, and then focus on the human cortical white matter. I will give an estimate of the number of fibers in the intrahemispheric bundles and present electron microscopic data on axonal thickness in these bundles. Such data are relevant for testing diffusion magnetic resonance imaging methods aiming at the investigation of white matter data in vivo, and, in particular, they are highly relevant for understanding functional interactions within the cortical network and the role of conduction times in it.

Host:

Prof. Dr. Sonja Grün
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6)
Computational and Systems Neuroscience
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6)
Theoretical Neuroscience