Definition
A cortical column is a module in the neocortex, approximately 300–600 μm in diameter, composed of many minicolumns coupled by short-range horizontal connections. Neurons within a column often share dynamic response properties. In general, a column is part of a continuous sheet of neocortex, where the boundaries of individual columns cannot be determined by anatomy alone, although there are exceptions such as the barrel field columns in rodent neocortex. Columns with similar response properties are often connected by long-range horizontal connections. Numerous efforts have been undertaken to develop computational models of the cortical column, which is often equated with the quest to identify the fundamental computational unit of the mammalian brain. These efforts span from highly simplified “mean-field” models that model interactions between homogeneous cell populations to detailed biophysical models with heterogeneous neuron morphologies and diverse electrophysiological...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Douglas RJ, Martin KA (1991) A functional microcircuit for cat visual cortex. J Physiol 440:735–769
Helmstaedter M, de Kock CPJ, Feldmeyer D, Bruno RM, Sakmann B (2007) Reconstruction of an average cortical column in silico. Brain Res Rev 55(2):193–203
Hill S, Tononi G (2005) Modeling sleep and wakefulness in the thalamocortical system. J Neurophysiol 93(3):1671–1698
Hill SL, Wang Y, Riachi I, Schurmann F, Markram H (2012) PNAS plus: statistical connectivity provides a sufficient foundation for specific functional connectivity in neocortical neural microcircuits. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109(42):E2885–E2894. doi:10.1073/pnas.1202128109
Horton JC, Adams DL (2005) The cortical column: a structure without a function. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 360(1456):837–862
Hubel DH, Wiesel TN (1962) Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat’s visual cortex. J Physiol 160:106–154
Hubel DH, Wiesel TN (1977) Functional architecture of macaque monkey cortex. Proc R Soc Lond B 198:1–59
Lorente de Nó R (1938) Architectonics and structure of the cerebral cortex. In: Fulton JF (ed) Physiology of the nervous system. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 291–330
Markram H (2006) The Blue Brain Project. Nat Rev Neurosci 7:153–160
Mountcastle VB (1957) Modality and topographic properties of single neurons of cat’s somatic sensory cortex. J Neurophysiol 20:408–434
Mountcastle VB (1998) Perceptual neuroscience. The cerebral cortex. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Mountcastle VB, Davies PW, Berman AL (1957) Response properties of neurons of cat’s somatic sensory cortex to peripheral stimuli. J Neurophysiol 20:374–407
Oberlaender M, de Kock CP, Bruno RM, Ramirez A, Meyer HS, Dercksen VJ, Helmstaedter M, Sakmann B (2012) Cell type-specific three-dimensional structure of thalamocortical circuits in a column of rat vibrissal cortex. Cereb Cortex 22(10):2375–2391
Powell TPS, Mountcastle VB (1959) Some aspects of the functional organization of the cortex of the postcentral gyrus of the monkey: a correlation of findings obtained in a single unit analysis with cytoarchitecture. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp 105:133–162
Rakic P (1995) A small step for the cell, a giant leap for mankind: a hypothesis of neocortical expansion during evolution. Trends Neurosci 18(9):383–388
Reimann MW, Anastassiou CA, Perin R, Hill SL, Markram H, Koch C (2013) A biophysically detailed model of neocortical local field potentials predicts the critical role of active membrane currents. Neuron 79(2):375–390
Somers DC, Nelson SB, Sur M (1995) An emergent model of orientation selectivity in cat visual cortical simple cells. J Neurosci 15(8):5448–5465
Traub RD, Contreras D, Cunningham MO, Murray H, LeBeau FE, Roopun A, Bibbig A, Wilent WB, Higley MJ, Whittington MA (2005) Single-column thalamocortical network model exhibiting gamma oscillations, sleep spindles, and epileptogenic bursts. J Neurophysiol 93(4):2194–2232
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hill, S. (2014). Cortical Columns, Models of. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_571-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_571-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences