The handshaking model of brain function: notes toward a theory

John Hughlings Jackson described the system-level organization of the nervous system in terms of functional-control relations between neural centers. His model emphasized hierarchical organization along a rostral-caudal dimension, with applications primarily to cases of clinical disorders such as epilepsy and motor paralysis. This paper outlines a new systems-level model of brain function, updating Jackson's original idea to account for all three orientations of body/brain organization, and additional, non-hierarchical types of relations. The approach may provide a powerful tool for addressing many aspects of human brain and behavior, ranging from normal characteristics (such as individual differences and gender differences), to cases of frank neurological injury, to other conditions, such as hyperactivity and chronic pain, conventionally considered as 'neurologically silent'.