An essay in ‘The Transmitter’ on the role of genes and physics in brain wiring.
When is it useful to understand this type of self-organization as a mechanism in brain development? Brain organoids that develop from induced pluripotent stem cells into patterned brain structures are sometimes described as beautiful examples of self-organization. But where is the mechanistic insight in this?
To state that the entire brain is self-organized is plausible yet nonexplanatory, as is the equally correct notion that all of brain development is based on molecular interactions. An explanatory mechanism of brain development must, above all, provide understanding of how a system can increase internal order.
To read the full essay, visit the publishing site of The Transmitter by the Simons Foundation.