Definition
A cortical map is a neural representation of an input space (e.g., the two dimensions of visual space and/or features such as orientation preference and ocular dominance) such that similar features in the input space are represented by neurons which are nearby in the cortex.
Detailed Description
A common way in which axonal projections connect areas in the brain is via topographic maps. Although there is no precise mathematical definition of this term, roughly speaking it means that neurons that are physically nearby in the input region, or alternatively neurons that have similar functional properties, map to neurons that are nearby in the target region. The formation of these maps during neural development depends on both intrinsic (molecularly guided) and extrinsic (activity-dependent) cues and has served as a paradigm model for how such cues guide brain development more generally. Activity-dependent effects on map development are the subject of a separate chapter; here we...
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Goodhill, G.J. (2014). Cortical Maps, Intrinsic Processes. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_671-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_671-2
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