Standard atlases using identical nomenclature enable scientists to navigate seamlessly between the brain of humans and experimental animals to test hypotheses inspired by human considerations and relate data from experimental animals to humans. In current atlas construction we make use of genes that are responsible for the segmentation of the brain in development (hox genes). Using evidence from transgenic mice and birds we are proposing a new plan for the organization and function of certain brain regions of mammals. The brainstem, for instance, can no longer be considered as a container of haphazardly arranged nuclei (as potatoes in a sac), but instead as regions which co-vary (start and end) with their neighbours.
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