Cataloging the connections

Viewing the brain as a network may help scientists tackle its complexity

LINKED IN  Using brain scanning technologies, scientists can create maps (above) showing the brain’s wiring, consisting of white matter fibers that link different parcels of the brain’s gray matter. The most highly connected parcels, or hubs, are indicated by blue and white dots.

Courtesy of M.P. van den Heuvel

Mapping the human brain is a noble goal, but a rather ill-defined one.