After providing all the funding for The Brain from Top to Bottom for over 10 years, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction informed us that because of budget cuts, they were going to be forced to stop sponsoring us as of March 31st, 2013.

We have approached a number of organizations, all of which have recognized the value of our work. But we have not managed to find the funding we need. We must therefore ask our readers for donations so that we can continue updating and adding new content to The Brain from Top to Bottom web site and blog.

Please, rest assured that we are doing our utmost to continue our mission of providing the general public with the best possible information about the brain and neuroscience in the original spirit of the Internet: the desire to share information free of charge and with no adverstising.

Whether your support is moral, financial, or both, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Bruno Dubuc, Patrick Robert, Denis Paquet, and Al Daigen




Monday, 4 December 2023
The “rich club” of networks in the human brain

What is known as the “rich club” in the human brain consists of densely interconnected regions of neurons that show little plasticity. The activity of these networks is highly stable , and the regions involved are rapidly informed of other neuronal events that occur throughout the brain . The neurons in this “rich club” may be regarded as one end of a continuum in terms of their low plasticity and the many connections that they make with other parts of the brain. The other end of the continuum consists of neurons that show a high degree of plasticity but are connected to relatively few other neurons and have a far lower level of activity. Along this continuum, just about every other possible combination of these traits can be found. It has been estimated, however, that the “rich club”, while accounting for only about 20% of the total population of neurons in the human brain , also accounts for nearly 50% of its total activity ! (more…)

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