Nature may abhor a vacuum, but it adores a hexagonal grid.

The six-sided shape is an exquisitely efficient way of dividing space, from seafoam to honeycombs.

And now, scientists have found hints that the human brain uses this same geometry to organize our emotions.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a team of neuroscientists has detected a hexagonal signature in brain activity as people evaluate emotional information – suggesting that a grid-like system may help the brain sort this information.