The role of rare long-range connectivity across phylogeny

The brain’s wiring follows an exponential distance rule (EDR), favoring short connections to minimize cost. Yet, evolution has preserved rare long-range exceptions (LREs) that defy this constraint. This project explores how such structural deviations support the emergence of complex brain dynamics and cognition. By combining cross-species connectomics, energetic modeling, and whole-brain simulations, we examine how LREs relate to brain size, evolution, behavior, and computational capacity. I hypothesize that these long-range exceptions act as structural enablers of integration and flexibility, driving efficient energy use, metastable dynamics, and higher-order cognition.