Article ID: CBB473323388

The Search of “Canonical” Explanations for the Cerebral Cortex (2018)

unapi

This paper addresses a fundamental line of research in neuroscience: the identification of a putative neural processing core of the cerebral cortex, often claimed to be “canonical”. This “canonical” core would be shared by the entire cortex, and would explain why it is so powerful and diversified in tasks and functions, yet so uniform in architecture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the search for canonical explanations over the past 40 years, discussing the theoretical frameworks informing this research. It will highlight a bias that, in my opinion, has limited the success of this research project, that of overlooking the dimension of cortical development. The earliest explanation of the cerebral cortex as canonical was attempted by David Marr, deriving putative cortical circuits from general mathematical laws, loosely following a deductive-nomological account. Although Marr’s theory turned out to be incorrect, one of its merits was to have put the issue of cortical circuit development at the top of his agenda. This aspect has been largely neglected in much of the research on canonical models that has followed. Models proposed in the 1980s were conceived as mechanistic. They identified a small number of components that interacted as a basic circuit, with each component defined as a function. More recent models have been presented as idealized canonical computations, distinct from mechanistic explanations, due to the lack of identifiable cortical components. Currently, the entire enterprise of coming up with a single canonical explanation has been criticized as being misguided, and the premise of the uniformity of the cortex has been strongly challenged. This debate is analyzed here. The legacy of the canonical circuit concept is reflected in both positive and negative ways in recent large-scale brain projects, such as the Human Brain Project. One positive aspect is that these projects might achieve the aim of producing detailed simulations of cortical electrical activity, a negative one regards whether they will be able to find ways of simulating how circuits actually develop.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB473323388/

Similar Citations

Article Josef Hlade; (2021)
Reconsidering “Brain mythology” (/isis/citation/CBB117316646/)

Article Mark Elam; (2015)
How the Brain Disease Paradigm Remoralizes Addictive Behaviour (/isis/citation/CBB789369122/)

Article Cory Wright; Matteo Colombo; Alexander Beard; (2017)
HIT and brain reward function: A case of mistaken identity (theory) (/isis/citation/CBB272128790/)

Book Tallis, Raymond; (2011)
Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity (/isis/citation/CBB001251426/)

Article Vivek Verma; Keerthana Samanthapudi; Ratujit Raviprakash; (2016)
Classic Studies on the Potential of Stem Cell Neuroregeneration (/isis/citation/CBB916680462/)

Book Gross, Charles G.; (1998)
Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience (/isis/citation/CBB000410895/)

Book Peter A. Bandettini; (2020)
fMRI (/isis/citation/CBB645468002/)

Article Marta Vassallo; Mario Picozzi; (2023)
Managing brain-hype: understanding and discriminating overemphasized brain-based allegations (/isis/citation/CBB605434145/)

Book Hagner, Michael; (2006)
Der Geist bei der Arbeit: historische Untersuchungen zur Hirnforschung (/isis/citation/CBB000775211/)

Article Droz Mendelzweig, Marion; (2010)
La plasticité cérébrale de Cajal à Kandel: cheminement d'une notion constitutive du sujet cérébral (/isis/citation/CBB001034701/)

Article Eling, Paul; Hofman, Michel A.; (2014)
The Central Institute for Brain Research in Amsterdam and Its Directors (/isis/citation/CBB001420777/)

Book Giosuè Baggio; (2022)
Neurolinguistics (/isis/citation/CBB647051163/)

Article Patton, Paul; (2014)
Ludwig Edinger: The Vertebrate Series and Comparative Neuroanatomy (/isis/citation/CBB001551843/)

Article Vilensky, Joel A.; Stone, James L.; Gilman, Sid; (2003)
Feud and Fable: The Sherrington-Horsley Polemic and the Delayed Publication (/isis/citation/CBB000410874/)

Article Michael E. Staub; (2016)
The Other Side of the Brain: The Politics of Split-Brain Research in the 1970s–1980s (/isis/citation/CBB718114935/)

Authors & Contributors
Picozzi, Mario
Hlade, Josef
Keerthana Samanthapudi
Peter A. Bandettini
Beard, Alexander
Ratujit Raviprakash
Concepts
Neurosciences
Brain
Neuroanatomy
Brain localization
Neurophysiology
Medicine
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
19th century
20th century
17th century
20th century, early
Places
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Germany
California (U.S.)
Great Britain
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment