Cortexkarte

Cortexkarte (German for cortex map) is a term used to describe a structured representation of the cerebral cortex that combines anatomical, functional, and connectivity data into an atlas. It serves as a reference for researchers and clinicians to understand cortical organization and to plan interventions or interpret experiments.

A Cortexkarte typically integrates cytoarchitectonic delineations, such as classic Brodmann areas, with modern functional parcellations derived from resting-state or task-based fMRI, as well as data on structural connections from diffusion-weighted imaging. It may also incorporate receptor density maps, myeloarchitecture, and multi-modal labels from histology. The result is a multi-layered, modular atlas that can be used at different resolutions.

Methods and data sources include noninvasive imaging (fMRI, PET, MEG, diffusion MRI), invasive recordings (electrocorticography), and postmortem histology. Alignment to standard coordinate spaces (for example MNI, Talairach) and to probabilistic atlases helps cross-study comparability.

Applications include neurosurgical planning, functional localization in neurology, education, brain-computer interface development, and comparative studies across species.

Challenges involve high inter-individual variability, state-dependent changes, differences between species, methodological differences, and ethical considerations when collecting human brain data.

History and context: the concept has roots in early cortical mapping efforts, such as Penfield's somatosensory homunculus and Brodmann's cytoarchitectural map. The Cortexkarte approach emphasizes integrated multimodal data and adaptive, probabilistic representations rather than a single static atlas.