connections

1)
Probably no one would ever know this; it did not matter. In the 1980s, Minsky and Good had shown how neural networks could be generated automatically—self replicated—in accordance with any arbitrary learning program. Artificial brains could be grown by a process strikingly analogous to the development of a human brain. In any given case, the precise details would never be known, and even if they were, they would be millions of times too complex for human understanding.

—Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey[8]

2)
Rick Hanson says you can change your mind to change your brain which in turn can change your mind.
" ... when your mind changes, your brain changes -- both temporarily, with the momentary flicker of synaptic activity, and in lasting ways through formation of new neural structures. Therefore, you can use your mind to change your brain to benefit your whole being -- and every other being whose life you touch."