David Ferrier's "complex whole": Early traces of a "brain network" concept.

Abstract

Currently, the idea that the brain is a complex network of interacting brain regions is hardly controversial. The rapid development of this field is often attributed to the emergence of powerful brain-imaging techniques and, around the millennium, the merging of the neuroscience of brain networks with modern mathematical graph theory. However, little is known about the historical roots of this concept. It is interesting to know when the first traces of a concept of brain networks can be found in the work of early neuroscientists, how this concept evolved over time, and what factors may have influenced this evolution. This study aims to set a first step in addressing these questions by a detailed analysis of David Ferrier's classic study, The Functions of the Brain. From this analysis it will become clear that, in addition to a clear notion of localized functions in the brain, Ferrier speculated in several places about the need for several of these brain regions to communicate and interact in order to bring about higher brain functions. He referred to this perspective on the brain as a "complex whole," which could be interpreted as an early precursor of the modern concept of brain networks.