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1. News from the Institutes

How a gene shapes the architecture of the human brain

Organoids provide insights into brain development with unprecedented precision

27.11.2025

1. Basics
2. Communication of Cells

The Human Brain Project: Review/Preview

The Human Brain Project has come to an end. It was more than the initial visions of its founder – as its legacy shows.

06.11.2023

1. Glossary

Complex cell

A nerve cell in the primary visual cortex with large receptive fields. They respond to visual stimuli with appropriate contrast, a specific orientation, and often also a specific direction of movement.

1. Glossary

Operculum

Cortical areas of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes at the lateral sulcus. The operculum covers the insular cortex.

1. Glossary

Inferior olivary nucleus

The inferior olive – more precisely, the olive nucleus complex – is one of the largest nucleus complexes in the brain stem. It plays an important role in fine-tuning motor skills, as it forms the connection between the motor cortex and the cerebellum.

1. Glossary

Area F5

A part of the ventral premotor cortex located in the frontal lobe of the mammalian brain. The nerve cells in this region of the brain are involved in planning and organizing purposeful movements, especially of the mouth and hand/grasping movements. Area F5 also has historical significance: it was here that researchers first discovered mirror neurons in macaques – the nerve cells in the brains of primates that fire just as strongly when their owners observe an action as when they perform it themselves.

1. Glossary

Plasticity

The term neuroplasticity describes the ability of synapses, nerve cells, and entire areas of the brain to change structurally and functionally depending on the degree to which they are used. Synaptic plasticity refers to the adaptation of the signal transmission strength of synapses to the frequency and intensity of incoming stimuli, for example in the form of long-term potentiation or depression. In addition, the size, interconnection, and activity patterns of different areas of the brain also change depending on their use. This phenomenon is referred to as cortical plasticity when it specifically affects the cortex.

1. Glossary

Visual radiation

The optic radiation – also known as Gratiolet's optic radiation after its discoverer – distributes visual impulses from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the comparatively very large primary visual cortex.

1. Glossary

Betz giant cells

Betz giant cells are particularly large pyramidal cells in the primary motor cortex (area 4). They have very large cell bodies with a diameter of 100 µm and heavily myelinated axons that project directly into the spinal cord. This makes them part of the corticospinal neurons of the pyramidal tract. Although they make up only a small portion of the fibers of the pyramidal tract, they are functionally important for the control of voluntary movements, especially fine motor skills.

1. Glossary

Caudate nucleus

Part of the basal ganglia, it forms the striatum together with the putamen. Anatomically, the caudate nucleus is located frontally in the center of the brain and extends backward, forming a C shape. It consists of a head (caput nuclei caudati), a body (corpus nuclei caudati), and a tail (cauda nuclei caudati). In contrast to the more motor-related parts of the basal ganglia, this area is strongly connected to the prefrontal cortex in addition to its motor functions. As a result, this part of the striatum is also heavily involved in cognition, motivation, and emotion.