Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus and Neocortex as the Embryonic Basis for Brain Module Formation

Zusammenfassung

At present, it becomes ever more evident that neural centers are organized as reiterating neuronal ensembles or modules. A conception of modular organization of neural centers in the CNS was suggested by Szentágothai and Arbib (1975) and was further developed by many investigators (reviewed by Szentágothai 1983). According to this conception, the modules represent portions of neural nets which, under given conditions, function as independent integrative units of neurons. In different brain structures, the modules vary in their spatial organization, the number and composition of neurons, their connections, and the character of data processing, but within the limits of one structure they are mostly the same. The modules were discovered in all large brain structures including the cerebral cortex.