Primate Cerebral Cortex: Principles of Connectivity, Parcellation, and Folding

Abstract: Cerebral cortex is the dominant structure of the human brain and is largely responsible for what makes us unique as a species and as individuals. This lecture will discuss recent progress in understanding fundamental aspects of cortical structure, development, connectivity, function, and evolution, particularly in humans and nonhuman primates. Part I will focus on the role of cartography in representing and manipulating cortical shape, particularly the complexities of cortical convolutions. Part II will address mechanistic questions of how and why the cortex attains its shape during morphogenesis. Part III will consider cortical parcellation by highlighting a new map of human cortical areas based on data from the Human Connectome Project and by illustrating the challenges in accurately identifying cortical areas in nonhuman primates. Part IV will explore exciting prospects for accelerated progress in brain mapping based on a convergence of powerful new approaches that may reveal valuable insights regarding what makes us uniquely human.

Bio: David C. Van Essen is the Alumni Endowed Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University in St Louis. He trained at Caltech and Harvard, and his research career has focused mainly on the structure, function, connectivity, development, and evolution of cerebral cortex in humans and nonhuman primates. He has served in many leadership positions, including chair of the Anatomy and Neurobiology Department at Washington University, President of the Society for Neuroscience, and founding chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. He has received numerous awards for excellence in research and teaching and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.