Novel Methods for the Visualization and Analysis of Functional Maps in Cortex

5 2 Anatomy and Physiology 2.1 Overview This chapter gives background information. It includes a brief survey of the relevant anatomy and physiology, for example information on cells, the brain, the cerebral cortex, and the visual system. For the following chapters, the concepts of visual areas and retinotopic organization are important. In addition to the explanations in this chapter, some definitions are listed in the glossary. For more information on the topics of this chapter, please refer to the literature. 2.2 Cell, Brain, and Cerebral Cortex The cell is the basic unit of living things. It is the smallest unit that has the fundamental prop- erties of life. Neurons (individual nerve cells) are the functional elements in the brain [Thompson, 2000 #5]. They process and transmit information. A typical neuron consists of a cell body, axons, and dendrites. The dendrites carry signals to the cell body. Only the axons carry the impulses away from the cell body in higher nervous systems [-, 2001 #6]. Nerves are bundles of fibers. The cerebral cortex is the outer covering of the brain. It has a modular organization, i.e., specific functions are organized into specific structures [Goldstein, 1999 #7]. It contains cell