A Brief History of Wires in the Brain

Matthew Cobb

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.760269

Abstract

Metaphors have formed a significant part of the development of neuroscience, often linked with technology. A metaphor that has been widely used for the past two centuries is that of the nervous system being like wires, either as a telegraph system or telephone exchange, or, more recently, in the more abstract metaphor of a wiring diagram. The entry of these terms into scientific writing is traced, together with the insights provided by these metaphors, in particular in relation to recent developments in the study of connectomes. Finally, the place of the wiring diagram as a modern version of Leibniz’s “mill” argument is described, as a way of exploring the limits of what insight the metaphor can provide

Highlights

Edited by: Giorgio Matassi, FRE3498 Ecologie et dynamique des systèmes anthropisés (EDYSAN), FranceReviewed by: Volker Hartenstein, University of California, Los Angeles, United States Anil K
Our changing understanding of brain function has involved the use of metaphors, often taken from technology (Cobb, 2020)
The wiring diagram metaphor became widespread with the development of various connectomic projects in the 21st century, even though the article that kicked off the interest in mammalian connectomes (Crick and Jones, 1993) did not

Summary

A Brief History of Wires in the Brain

A metaphor that has been widely used for the past two centuries is that of the nervous system being like wires, either as a telegraph system or telephone exchange, or, more recently, in the more abstract metaphor of a wiring diagram. The entry of these terms into scientific writing is traced, together with the insights provided by these metaphors, in particular in relation to recent developments in the study of connectomes. The place of the wiring diagram as a modern version of Leibniz’s “mill” argument is described, as a way of exploring the limits of what insight the metaphor can provide

INTRODUCTION

DISCUSSION

Methods