Abstract
Of the approximately 90 billion nerve cells in the human brain, about 16 billion are located in the cerebral cortex. This large number of neurons allows the development of individually controllable neuronal networks which underlie higher cognitive functions but also make systems particularly vulnerable. In the first chapter, in addition to a description of the neuroanatomical and neurohistological basics, comparative aspects are discussed to explain why in contrast to animals we need an extensive cerebral cortex, particularly in the frontal brain areas, and a plethora of well connected nerve cells.
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Klimaschewski, L.P. (2022). Introduction to Brain Development: Why do We Need so Many Nerve Cells?. In: Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Today. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66369-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66369-1_1
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