Cortical column

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Cortical columns are considered to be the basic computational unit of the neocortex[1] and their quantity are the main determinant of the intelligence of a specific mammal and the general intelligence of the species it is a part of. They are macrocolumns which consists of about a thousand minicolumns which are found all throughout the neocortex, with a diameter of roughly 0.5mm which is also about the distance between the center of two separate columns.

  1. Vernon Mountcastle (1978), "An Organizing Principle for Cerebral Function: The Unit Model and the Distributed System", The Mindful Brain (Gerald M. Edelman and Vernon B. Mountcastle, eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.