Debra Jenks

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the PLOS Review or PLOS ONE.

Current research on working with the human brain unveils a trove of fascinating discoveries about its workings and the human mind. For example, current research shows that the connections in the brain are highly polarized — we find connections between neurons much more frequently for our inner space-traveling selves than for outward-traveling bodies. At the same time, recent research by UCLA professor Jeffrey Wise suggests that the human brain—when given a choice—tends to take more risks and endure more painful realities. And just as there are massive neural networks involved in forging deep friendships, and in making sense of the world and the meaning of life, there are also many profound individual differences in the way our brains work.

Since the early 1970s, major accomplishments in the field of neuroscience have implicated the human brain in an array of diverse and challenging conditions and situations. Our first breakthroughs have revealed a continuum of brain wiring that crosses a vast population of neurons and might reasonably suggest potential links to both neurodevelopmental conditions and aspects of complex mental illness. Increasingly, the focus of brain research has turned to the connections between the frontal lobes and the limbic systems that lie deep within the brain.

The findings of studies of the human brain described in this report, which are reviewed here, reveal striking parallels not only between the functional organization of our brains and those of other animals but also between our own brains and the brains of whales, monkeys, and other species whose brains have gone through dramatic changes through evolution. What they have in common is the capacity for extraordinary complexity and astounding plasticity and, despite what was once a rare view, significant successes in understanding the brain in relation to its associations with behaviors, diseases, and human problems. Here, we discuss the enduring challenge of linking the study of the brain's neural representations to the various human practices and our complex human understanding of ourselves.

Recent advances in imaging have deepened our understanding of how the neural circuits support the behavior of the human mind. Such circuits are implicated in tasks such as reasoning, goal-directed action, and morality.