Why the brain is not folded like a crumpled sheet of paper

Crumpled paper and Romanesco cauliflower have one thing in common: they have a fractal form. "Scientists have long been discussing whether the curves of our cerebrum have a fractal form," explains Dr. Marc de Lussanet, a researcher at Münster University. Experts want to know how the brain folds are produced in order to understand the brain, its development and possible disorders. It is against this background that a study on folds in the brain, published in the "Science" journal in the summer of 2015, attracted attention in the media in Germany. Brazilian researchers Bruno Mota and Suzana Herculano-Houzel had demonstrated the mathematical laws by which the cortex is folded. They saw their calculations as evidence that the folds correspond to a fractal form. "The calculation is wrong," says biologist Marc de Lussanet now, who substantiates his claim in a commentary likewise published in "Science".