The human brain is arguably the most complex structure known to science. A century ago, the German Korbinian Brodmann made the first serious attempt at cataloging this complexity. He divided the cerebral cortex, the biggest and uniquely mammalian part of the brain, into about 50 regions based on their anatomical appearance. These are now known as "Brodmann areas." In modern neuroscience, we understand that some of these anatomical regions have similar functions, while others play multiple roles. For example, Brodmann areas 39, 40, and part of 22 together make up "Wernicke's area," named after Carl Wernicke, another German. Wernicke's area is crucial for our seemingly effortless ability to make sense of words (as well as other forms of communication, such as sign language). When scientists first studied brains, they noticed that some parts were a bit darker in appearance than others, and called these "gray matter" and "white matter." We now know that gray matter is made up of billions of nerve cells or neurons. White matter consists of the neural cables or axons that connect different brain regions.

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