Proceedings Title

The characteristically folded surface morphology is a classical hallmark of the mammalian brain. During development, the initially smooth surface evolves into an elaborately convoluted pattern, which closely correlates with brain function and serves as a clinical indicator for pathological conditions. Here, we combine computational and experimental analyses to show that physical forces control pattern selection in the developing brain. We closely consider cellular processes during brain development to establish a mechanical model for brain growth. The model consists of a morphogenetically growing outer cortex and a stretch-induced growing inner core. Our results demonstrate that mechanical instabilities can explain cortical folding during brain development. Combining physics and biology holds promise to advance our understanding of human brain development, to enable early diagnostics of cortical malformations, and to improve treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, autism, and schizophrenia.