Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health turns thinking about the brain on its head

A landmark Victorian study has made a “mind boggling” finding, turning the long-held thinking of how the brain works on its head.

Professor Alex Fornito (right) and Dr James Pang were involved in the landmark study.

A landmark study led by Victorian researchers has turned on its head the scientific community’s thinking of how the brain works.

Published today in the journal Nature, the study found the shape of the brain, rather than its intricate web of connectivity, has the most influence on how the brain functions.

Its shape, the researchers say, influences everything from how humans think and feel, to their behaviour.

Previously it was thought brain function was determined by patterns of activity driven by cellular connectivity; a little like the internet. This study, led by a team from the Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and the School of Psychological Sciences, shows shape matters more.

Professor Alex Fornito (left) and Dr James Pang from the Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health. Supplied.

“We have long thought that specific thoughts or sensations elicit activity in specific parts of the brain,” lead author Dr James Pang said.

“But this study reveals that structured patterns of activity are excited across nearly the entire brain, just like the way in which a musical note arises from vibrations occurring along the entire length of a violin string, and not just an isolated segment.”

Dr Pang said discovering that brain shape, which encompasses its size, length, and contours, influences brain activity was mind boggling.

“This study was quite a journey,” Dr Pang said. “We wanted to make sure it was right so we kept giving it a lot of different tests and it continued to perform well. That was the moment that we knew we were on to something.”

The team says focusing on the shape of the brain may help to change the way psychiatric and neurological diseases are studied and understood.

“The applications are endless, but it is early days yet,” Dr Pang said.

The team was led by Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Alex Fornito.

Professor Fornito said the study developed when the team tried to identify the key aspects of brain anatomy that influenced its function.

Professor Alex Fornito (left) and Dr James Pang. Led research showing shape of the brain plays important role. Image: Supplied

“We, along with most other researchers working in the field, have long thought that it would be necessary to map the intricate connectivity of the brain to understand how it works, which can be complex and costly,” Professor Fornito said.

“We managed to develop an alternative approach that shows we don’t need all of that detail.

“By making some pretty simple assumptions about how different parts of the brain are connected, we can study how patterns of activity move through the brain in a much simpler way.”

He likened it to the way a ripple formed in a pond when hit by a rock.

“If you imagine throwing a rock into a pond, the pattern of ripples that form will be influenced by the shape of the pond,” he said.

New Victorian study finds the shape of the brain, rather than its intricate web of connectivity, has the most influence on how the brain functions. Image: Supplied

“Our work is suggesting that activity moves through the brain like waves in a pond, and the shape of the brain influences the patterns that activity can form.”

Professor Fornito said brain shape was unique, like a fingerprint, and that future research may help the team to shed light on risk factors leading to disease such as dementia or mental illness such as schizophrenia.

“We are still really trying to understand the implications of this study,” he said. “This work was about establishing this link between shape and brain activity. The next stage will be unpacking what this means for behaviour and disease.”