The structural basis of inter-individual differences in human behavior and cognition.

Inter-individual variability in perception, thought and action is frequently treated as a source of ‘noise’ in scientific investigations and discarded by averaging data from a group of participants. However, recent MRI studies in the human brain show that inter-individual variability in a wide range of basic and higher cognitive functions – including perception, motor control, memory, aspects of consciousness and the ability to introspect – can be predicted from the local structure of grey and white matter. The authors propose that inter-individual differences can be used as a source of information to link human behavior and cognition to brain anatomy.
Kanai R, Rees G. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 12, 231-242 (April 2011), doi:10.1038/nrn3000
http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n4/abs/nrn3000.html