Spatial embedding of structural similarity in the cerebral cortex.

ABSTRACT: Recent anatomical tracing studies have yielded substantial amounts of data on the areal connectivity underlying distributed processing in cortex, yet the fundamental principles that govern the large-scale organization of cortex remain unknown. Here we show that functional similarity between areas as defined by the pattern of shared inputs or outputs is a key to understanding the areal network of cortex. In particular, we report a systematic relation in the monkey, human, and mouse cortex between the occurrence of connections from one area to another and their similarity distance. This characteristic relation is rooted in the wiring distance dependence of connections in the brain. We introduce a weighted, spatially embedded random network model that robustly gives rise to this structure, as

SUBMITTER: Song HF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4246295 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature