Recent Advances on the Modular Organization of the Cortex

The way you perceive the world, plan, make decisions and communicate your thoughts and feelings depends on the function and hierarchical arrangement of cortical modules. The ability to both provide adaptive responses to our ever-changing environment and to pursue a useful role in society is the most important problem faced by present day neuroscientists. In essence, the workings of cortical modules define the nature of our soul, making each of us who we are. This book provides a breath-taking view of different perspectives by world renowned authorities as to the workings of these cortical modules both in the normal state and in mental disorders.

Explains in simple terms recent advances that define the role of cortical modules in the emergence of higher cognitive functions and their involvement as core pathological features of mental disorders Delineates the anatomical and physiological properties of cortical modules during information processing Promotes a basic understanding of the role of cortical modules in comparative neuroanatomy, neuropathology, neurophysiology and anthropology Written in understandable terms by renowned leaders in the fields of anthropology, electrophysiology, neuroanatomy and neuropathology

Inhalt

Introduction.- Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle.- Modular organization of the prefrontal cortex: the legacy of Patricia Goldman-Rakic.- The types of functional and structural subdivisions of cortical areas.- The types of functional and structural subdivisions of cortical areas.- The minicolumn in comparative context.- Unusual cortical lamination patterns in the sengis (elephant shrews) do not appear to influence the presence of cortical minicolumns.- Active inference, predictive coding and cortical architecture.- Columnar organization of the motor cortex: direction of movement.- Discrete, place-defined macrocolumns in somatosensory cortex: lessons for modular organization of the cerebral cortex.- Prefrontal cortical microcircuits for executive control of behavior.- Cytoarchitectural modules: functional specialisation and disruption in neuropsychiatric disorders.- The relevance of subplate modifications to connectivity in the cerebral cortex of individuals with autism spectrum disorders.-The minicolumnopathy of autism.- Clinical applications of electrophysiological approaches based on cortical modularity in autism.- Index.