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| Brain map carves cortex into twice as many areas | Brain map carves cortex into twice as many areas |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| A new brain map, based on multiple scans of more than 400 individuals, has carved the "cortex" into 180 different compartments - 97 of which are new. | A new brain map, based on multiple scans of more than 400 individuals, has carved the "cortex" into 180 different compartments - 97 of which are new. |
| This crumpled outer layer of the brain is home to our advanced cognition, perception and movement. | This crumpled outer layer of the brain is home to our advanced cognition, perception and movement. |
| It has been mapped in various ways for centuries, but this new effort is a landmark attempt at a definitive, modern atlas for neuroscientists. | It has been mapped in various ways for centuries, but this new effort is a landmark attempt at a definitive, modern atlas for neuroscientists. |
| The work is reported in Nature and the data is available to scientists online. | The work is reported in Nature and the data is available to scientists online. |
| It is the most significant result to date from the Human Connectome Project, a US-led collaboration aimed at unravelling the wiring of the human brain and how it affects behaviour. | |
| 'Mammoth effort' | 'Mammoth effort' |
| Dr Emma Robinson, now at Imperial College London, is a co-author of the Nature paper and was part of the Oxford University team which built software to analyse the project's huge streams of data. | Dr Emma Robinson, now at Imperial College London, is a co-author of the Nature paper and was part of the Oxford University team which built software to analyse the project's huge streams of data. |
| "This is the culmination of the entire HCP project that we've been working towards," she told BBC News. | "This is the culmination of the entire HCP project that we've been working towards," she told BBC News. |
| "This paper is really a mammoth effort by Matthew Glasser and David Van Essen (of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri) - manually labelling brain regions, but also pulling together all the streams that we've been working on, trying to collect incredibly high quality images and state-of-the-art imaging processing techniques." | "This paper is really a mammoth effort by Matthew Glasser and David Van Essen (of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri) - manually labelling brain regions, but also pulling together all the streams that we've been working on, trying to collect incredibly high quality images and state-of-the-art imaging processing techniques." |
| The team used several different types of information, derived from lengthy scanning sessions of 210 people, to define the boundaries of 180 areas in each brain hemisphere. | The team used several different types of information, derived from lengthy scanning sessions of 210 people, to define the boundaries of 180 areas in each brain hemisphere. |
| To begin with, there were physical properties to consider - such as the amount of myelin, the substance which wraps nerve fibres, detected throughout the cortex; or variations in the folding and the thickness of the cortex. | To begin with, there were physical properties to consider - such as the amount of myelin, the substance which wraps nerve fibres, detected throughout the cortex; or variations in the folding and the thickness of the cortex. |
| But the researchers also looked at brain activity. Which regions were activated by particular tasks - reading as opposed to gambling, for example? And to what extent was activity in one area correlated and coordinated with activity elsewhere? | But the researchers also looked at brain activity. Which regions were activated by particular tasks - reading as opposed to gambling, for example? And to what extent was activity in one area correlated and coordinated with activity elsewhere? |
| After using automatic computational tools to separate those 180 areas, the team set about testing and confirming the results on a fresh sample of 210 individual brains. | After using automatic computational tools to separate those 180 areas, the team set about testing and confirming the results on a fresh sample of 210 individual brains. |
| There were, perhaps inevitably, some differences between individuals, but brain researchers have welcomed the map as the most detailed human brain atlas to date. | There were, perhaps inevitably, some differences between individuals, but brain researchers have welcomed the map as the most detailed human brain atlas to date. |
| Prof Tim Behrens, another computational neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, is involved in the HCP but was not an author on the new paper - which he described as "awe inspiring". | Prof Tim Behrens, another computational neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, is involved in the HCP but was not an author on the new paper - which he described as "awe inspiring". |
| "Obviously there are a bunch of people who have done parcellations before. But this one is extraordinary because of the level of precision. | "Obviously there are a bunch of people who have done parcellations before. But this one is extraordinary because of the level of precision. |
| "Every one of those 180 areas in this paper is described in detail - its relation to the previous literature, its functional properties, its anatomical properties... Nobody will do as good a job as this for a long time. | "Every one of those 180 areas in this paper is described in detail - its relation to the previous literature, its functional properties, its anatomical properties... Nobody will do as good a job as this for a long time. |
| "It will now be the parcellation that is used by all of neuroscience, I would think." | "It will now be the parcellation that is used by all of neuroscience, I would think." |
| Prof Simon Eickhoff studies brain organisation at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany and was not involved in the research. | Prof Simon Eickhoff studies brain organisation at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany and was not involved in the research. |
| He told the BBC the new map was "a really big step forward" and was built on an impressive variety of data. | He told the BBC the new map was "a really big step forward" and was built on an impressive variety of data. |
| "It's very useful. It betters the descriptions that have been available up till now," Prof Eickhoff said. | "It's very useful. It betters the descriptions that have been available up till now," Prof Eickhoff said. |
| But he cautioned against describing the 97 freshly delineated regions as "new areas". | But he cautioned against describing the 97 freshly delineated regions as "new areas". |
| "If you look at the classical brain maps, even from the 19th century - they were whole-brain maps; they had a label for every spot on the cortex. Any part of the brain has already been looked at. | "If you look at the classical brain maps, even from the 19th century - they were whole-brain maps; they had a label for every spot on the cortex. Any part of the brain has already been looked at. |
| "[This work] certainly defines something clearly, where knowledge has been imprecise and maybe contradictory. But 'new' is a tricky term." | "[This work] certainly defines something clearly, where knowledge has been imprecise and maybe contradictory. But 'new' is a tricky term." |
| Prof Behrens, meanwhile, said that beyond the map's utility for neuroscientists and neurosurgeons, it would change the way he thinks about the human brain. | Prof Behrens, meanwhile, said that beyond the map's utility for neuroscientists and neurosurgeons, it would change the way he thinks about the human brain. |
| "It conceptually changes things. Brain areas are not coarsely divided with, say, 50 pieces that we need to figure out what they're doing. | "It conceptually changes things. Brain areas are not coarsely divided with, say, 50 pieces that we need to figure out what they're doing. |
| "As you get more and better data, you can subdivide it further and further - and we should be thinking about the brain in this much more granular way." | "As you get more and better data, you can subdivide it further and further - and we should be thinking about the brain in this much more granular way." |
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