Eli5: How do brain surgeons differentiate one part of the brain from the other when they all look the same?

Question

How do they look at a brain and know that if they cut this tiny section they could cut off fine motor control, and this section is responsible for memories, etc. It all looks the same!

In: 5

Answer 1

There’s a map. The brain doesn’t really look all the same. There’s quite a bit of organization. Most people don’t have the experience or training to distinguish many differences in brain structure, but brain surgeons can. Here’s a link for you: https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/bioscience/accurate-map-brain/