Columnar connectome: towards a mathematics of brain function
https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/netn_a_00088
Summary:
What makes the brain unique is its vast network of connections. It is the SYSTEMATIC PATTERNs of functional connections lead to behavior, thoughts, and feelings. This article proposes that there are common repeated patterns of connectivity and that these patterns can be represented mathematically. Such brain math opens doors to understanding biological thought, design of new targeted brain-machine interfaces, and a new generation of artificial intelligence.
Abstract
Understanding brain networks is important for many fields, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and artificial intelligence. To address this fundamental need, there are multiple ongoing connectome projects in the US, Europe, and Asia producing brain connection maps with resolutions at macro-, meso-, and micro-scales. This viewpoint focuses on the mesoscale connectome (the columnar connectome). Here, I summarize the need for such a connectome, a method for achieving such data rapidly on a largescale, and a proposal about how one might use such data to achieve a mathematics of brain function.