A Measuring System for Analyzing Neuronal Fiber Structure

Structure and function are the two properties of any biological system that challenge our understanding. But nowhere is structure more complex or function more obscure than in the mammalian central nervous system. Certainly, any progress in our understanding of cerebral function requires us to know more about brain structure. But the converse is also true. Since a precise specification of the vast neural network encountered, for example, in the cerebal cortex is out of the question, we must ask what are the functionally significant parameters of neural structure. Thus the prejudices of the experimenter are unfortunately imprinted on the investigations at the outset, and we should be aware of some inevitable circularity in our approach.