Abstract

The cerebral cortex is the largest and most intricately connected part of the mammalian brain. Its size and complexity has increased during the course of evolution, allowing improvements in old functions and causing the emergence of new ones, such as language. This has expanded the behavioural and cognitive repertoire of different species and has determined their competitive success. To allow the relatively rapid emergence of large evolutionary changes in a structure of such importance and complexity, the mechanisms by which cortical circuitry develops must be flexible and yet robust against changes that could disrupt the normal functions of the networks.

Author affiliations

1. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Retzius väg 8, S-17177 Stockholm.
2. Developmental Biology Laboratory, Biomedical Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK.

Correspondence to: Giorgio M. Innocenti¹ Email: giorgio.innocenti@neuro.ki.se

Published online 1 November 2005

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