Encephalization, emergent properties, and psychiatry: a minicolumnar perspective

The focus of the authors' attention is the consequence of brain growth understood in terms of the development of networks of cortical cell minicolumns, the elemental information-processing units of the brain. The authors view cortical growth, encephalization, and the emergence of higher cognitive functions in humans as the consequence of an increase in the number of minicolumns and their connections. Encephalization has proceeded via weak linkages of canonical circuits, which facilitate the emergence of novel cortical functions. In addition to reframing the evolution of mind, this perspective provides a conceptual framework for a better understanding of the origin and maladaptive nature of certain psychiatric conditions.