- Functional CNS Model - Rat
The Functional CNS Model - Rat is one of three hierarchical models representing the internal organization of the central nervous system (CNS). The others are the Classical Model and the Developmental Model. Of the three, the Functional CNS Model - Rat is the most useful for addressing the fundamental question of neuroscientific research, namely, the relation between neuroanatomical structure and function.
In the Functional Model structures are grouped based on information drawn from all neuroscientific disciplines. They are not grouped as in the Developmental Model, primarily by origin in the embryonic brain, nor as in the Classical Model, primarily on the basis of proximity as observed by dissection and histological stains for Nissl substance and myelin. In the Functional Model they are grouped additionally by other functionally important features, such as connections, neurochemical characteristics, and role in physiogical and behavioral processes. While the Functional Model was developed primarily for an atlas of the rat brain ( Swanson-2004 ), the hierarchical organization of structures is for the most part applicable to the human, macaque, mouse and other mammalian brains as well.
Structures at lower levels of the Functional CNS hierarchy are largely the same as in the Classical and Developmental Models, i.e., they were originally identified by stains for gray matter (Nissl substance) and white matter (myelin). At the next higher level they are grouped into basic connectional and functional systems of the CNS, such as the subcortical sensory systems, the subcortical motor system and the behavioral state system. At the highest levels CNS structures are grouped on the basis of dissection and embryologic precursors into cerebrum ( cerebral cortex and cerebral nuclei ), cerebellum, and cerebrospinal trunk.
- Topographic Model of Human Cerebral Cortex
The topographic model of human cerebral cortex is a closed partitive hierarchical model of cerebral cortical structure in the human. The cerebral cortex is segmented on the basis of internal structure, connectivity, and/or functions of cortical areas. It is designed to update the comprehensive early twentieth century parcellations of Brodmann and of von Economo and Koskinas and their successors. A work in progress, it integrates the most authoritative, comprehensive, and recent parcellations and nomenclatures from peer-reviewed publications and neuroanatomical texts. For an equivalent model in the rodent, Search BrainInfo for ' Functional CNS Model - Rat '.
This segmentation of the human cerebral cortex, based on a combination of internal structure, connectivity, and function, complements the classical segmentation of the cerebral cortex into lobes, lobules, and gyri based on sulcal patterns: For the classical segmentation, see ' cerebral cortex ' and click 'Locus in Brain Hierarchy'.