The Dark Matter of the Human Brain

A short description of the project

In this project we will identifying gray matter regions whose contribution to perception, cognition, and behavior remains unknown. To achieve this, we will use the large amount of data available through decades of research on the human brain. We will flip the conventional approach of mapping functions to brain areas and instead focus on the brain areas themselves. We will create a complete map of the gray matter of the human brain and divide it into a fine grid of individual locations. For every location, we will search for functions that have been associated with it. As a result, the project will yield a knowledge map of the human brain, highlighting the “dark spots,” i.e., those gray matter locations that have not been associated with any function. Identifying these dark spots is the first step in their further investigation. This investigation should focus on tackling their functional role or confirming the absence thereof. A detailed map of such functionless brain areas will also be useful in neurosurgery practice.

The current project takes a cardinally different approach to understanding the brain and its relationship with mind and behavior, making the brain, rather than the mental processes, the starting point and the reference frame of the investigation. The project will yield a knowledge map of the human brain that will guide future research. Furthermore, confirming the existence of idle gray matter (i.e., areas without a function) will give rise to new questions about their broader evolutionary purpose.