4 ms·
Cortical columns exist [1]; think perpendicular to the surface of the cortex [2, 2nd image, or just image search "cortical column"]. This is due to the morpholo
by lamename 9y ago
Cortical columns exist [1]; think perpendicular to the surface of the cortex [2, 2nd image, or just image search "cortical column"]. This is due to the morphology of cortical neurons. My understanding is that a column can be thought of as a functional unit, and passing information across columns adds complexity.
Of course biology is messy and there's tons of variation depending on which brain region you're looking at, but Visual Cortex was one of the earliest places this was observed. It gets complicated and detailed quickly, and I'm somewhat out of my element here.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_column https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_column
[2] http://www.mbfbioscience.com/blog/2012/01/neurolucida-helps-florida-researchers-reconstruct-a-region-of-the-rat-brain/ http://www.mbfbioscience.com/blog/2012/01/neurolucida-helps-...
- SubiculumCode 9y agoThere are, of course lateral connections between columns, but the columns are very real. I dont see what geomettic algebra has to with it, as the grandparent suggests.
- adamnemecek 9y agoThey are performing spatial reasoning and GA is a better algebra for that.
- SubiculumCode 9y agoI mean I don't see why geometric algebra bears on the factual existence of column-like structure perpendicular to the cortical surface in real brains. Geometric algebra may bear on what those columns do, but it is not relevant to whether the columns exist. This is a matter of observing network wiring from brain preparations.
- kortex 9y agoI think it has something to do with the power of building hierarchical layers of abstraction, to make increasingly precise predictions about the world.
- rdlecler1 9y agoI would have assumed it was reducing complexity filtering out noise and compressing information), not adding it?