Brain, Vol. 125, No. 5, 935-951,
May 2002
© 2002 Guarantors of Brain
Review Article |
The minicolumn hypothesis in neuroscience
1 Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA
Correspondence to: Daniel Buxhoeveden, Downtown VA Medical Center, 116-A Psychiatry Service, 3B-121 Augusta, GA 30904, USA E-mail: danb{at}psych.mcg.edu
The minicolumn is a continuing source of research and debate more than half a century after it was identified as a component of brain organization. The minicolumn is a sophisticated local network that contains within it the elements for redundancy and plasticity. Although it is sometimes compared to subcortical nuclei, the design of the minicolumn is a distinctive form of module that has evolved specifically in the neocortex. It unites the horizontal and vertical components of cortex within the same cortical space. Minicolumns are often considered highly repetitive, even clone-like, units. However, they display considerable heterogeneity between areas and species, perhaps even within a given macrocolumn. Despite a growing recognition of the anatomical basis of the cortical minicolumn, as well as its physiological properties, the potential of the minicolumn has not been exploited in fields such as comparative neuroanatomy, abnormalities of the brain and mind, and evolution.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. L. Maxwell, M.-A. MacKinnon, J. E. Stewart, and D. I. Graham Stereology of cerebral cortex after traumatic brain injury matched to the Glasgow Outcome Score Brain, January 1, 2010; 133(1): 139 - 160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Gold, C. C. Girardin, K. A. C. Martin, and C. Koch High-Amplitude Positive Spikes Recorded Extracellularly in Cat Visual Cortex J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2009; 102(6): 3340 - 3351. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Avitan, M. Teicher, and M. Abeles EEG Generator--A Model of Potentials in a Volume Conductor J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2009; 102(5): 3046 - 3059. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Y. Ts'o, M. Zarella, and G. Burkitt Whither the hypercolumn? J. Physiol., June 15, 2009; 587(12): 2791 - 2805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Casanova and J. Trippe Radial cytoarchitecture and patterns of cortical connectivity in autism Phil Trans R Soc B, May 27, 2009; 364(1522): 1433 - 1436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Chameau, D. Inta, T. Vitalis, H. Monyer, W. J. Wadman, and J. A. van Hooft The N-terminal region of reelin regulates postnatal dendritic maturation of cortical pyramidal neurons PNAS, April 28, 2009; 106(17): 7227 - 7232. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Rakic Confusing cortical columns PNAS, August 26, 2008; 105(34): 12099 - 12100. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Rinaldi, G. Silberberg, and H. Markram Hyperconnectivity of Local Neocortical Microcircuitry Induced by Prenatal Exposure to Valproic Acid Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2008; 18(4): 763 - 770. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. S. B. C. Ang Jr, V. Gluncic, A. Duque, M. E. Schafer, and P. Rakic From the Cover: Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice PNAS, August 22, 2006; 103(34): 12903 - 12910. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Nowakowski Stable neuron numbers from cradle to grave PNAS, August 15, 2006; 103(33): 12219 - 12220. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Benavides-Piccione, F. Hamzei-Sichani, I. Ballesteros-Yanez, J. DeFelipe, and R. Yuste Dendritic Size of Pyramidal Neurons Differs among Mouse Cortical Regions Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2006; 16(7): 990 - 1001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Limoges, L. Mottron, C. Bolduc, C. Berthiaume, and R. Godbout Atypical sleep architecture and the autism phenotype Brain, May 1, 2005; 128(5): 1049 - 1061. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. C Horton and D. L Adams The cortical column: a structure without a function Phil Trans R Soc B, April 29, 2005; 360(1456): 837 - 862. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Cruz, D. L. Roe, B. Urbanc, H. Cabral, H. E. Stanley, and D. L. Rosene Age-related reduction in microcolumnar structure in area 46 of the rhesus monkey correlates with behavioral decline PNAS, November 9, 2004; 101(45): 15846 - 15851. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. Peters, C. Redecker, G. Hagemann, C. Bruehl, H. J. Luhmann, and O. W. Witte Impaired Synaptic Plasticity in the Surround of Perinatally Aquired Dysplasia in Rat Cerebral Cortex Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2004; 14(10): 1081 - 1087. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Janusonis, V. Gluncic, and P. Rakic Early Serotonergic Projections to Cajal-Retzius Cells: Relevance for Cortical Development J. Neurosci., February 18, 2004; 24(7): 1652 - 1659. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. F. Casanova, D. Buxhoeveden, and J. Gomez Disruption in the Inhibitory Architecture of the Cell Minicolumn: Implications for Autisim Neuroscientist, December 1, 2003; 9(6): 496 - 507. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Rakic Developmental and Evolutionary Adaptations of Cortical Radial Glia Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2003; 13(6): 541 - 549. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Schmid and E.S. Anton Role of Integrins in the Development of the Cerebral Cortex Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2003; 13(3): 219 - 224. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. B. Mountcastle Introduction Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2003; 13(1): 2 - 4. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. C. McKinstry, A. Mathur, J. H. Miller, A. Ozcan, A. Z. Snyder, G. L. Schefft, C. R. Almli, S. I. Shiran, T. E. Conturo, and J. J. Neil Radial Organization of Developing Preterm Human Cerebral Cortex Revealed by Non-invasive Water Diffusion Anisotropy MRI Cereb Cortex, December 1, 2002; 12(12): 1237 - 1243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|