Wider Than the Sky: An Alternative to “Mapping” the World Onto the Brain

This paper reevaluates the conventional topographic model of brain function, stressing the critical role of philosophical inquiry in neuroscience. Since the 1930s, pioneering studies by Penfield and subsequent advancements in visual neuroscience by Hubel and Wiesel have popularized the concept of cortical maps as representations of external and internal states. Yet contemporary research in various sensory systems, including visual cortices in certain animals, questions the universal applicability of this model. We critique the restrictive influence of this paradigm and introduce an alternative conceptualization using the olfactory system as a model. This system's genetic diversity and dynamic neural encoding serve as a foundation for proposing a rule-based, adaptive framework for neural processing, akin to the dynamic routing in GPS technology, which moves beyond fixed spatial mappings.