A cylinder of cells extending the depth of the cerebral cortex, and which is the fundamental repeating unit of the cortex. Each column does a stereotyped intake, transformation and distribution of a particular class of information. Cortical columns were first discovered electrophysiologically by Vernon B. Mountcastle in 1957: neurons horizontally no more than 0.5 mm …
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Cortical area
A fundamental division of the cerebral cortex, containing many columns. Each cortical area is usually recognized by a topographic representation of some feature, like the visual field, characteristic structure of its layers, and particular inputs and outputs. See Cerebral cortex (or pallium), Cortical column, Cytoarchitectonic independence
Correspondence problem
The problem of how the imitator knows what acts of their own ‘match’ those they see in others. What is the metric of equivalence? That is a question that still has to be resolved satisfactorily in studies of imitation, and solutions may be available in comparing the kinematics of the demonstrator and the imitator. Traditional …
Corsi block-tapping task
Test for the assessment of short-term visuo-spatial memory. Participants are required to mimic the test leader as he taps a sequenceof maximally nine identical spatially separated blocks. Task difficultyincreases during the task (i.e., starting with a sequence of two blocks, untilfailure of the participant). For humans, performance on the taskdeteriorates after 5 blocks, and the outcome referred …
Corrected age
Postnatal age minus the number of weeks born before the gestational age of 40 weeks. For example, an infant born at 30 weeks gestation and tested at 20 weeks after birth has a corrected age of 20 a (40-30) = 10 weeks. This preterm infant can then be compared to full term infants with a …
Core concepts
Fundamental, immutable (usually physical) concepts that appear early in development and subsequently constrain the development of related concepts. As such, they serve as ‘building blocks’ for subsequent achievements ranging from educational ones to health and economic productivity. One approach to core concepts as developmental foundations emphasises the dynamic relationship between the developing brain and experience. …
Corpus callosum
Also known as the great cerebral commissure (where a commissure is a band of fibers of tissues connecting bilateral structures), it is the large midline band or collection of commissural fibers connecting the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, with an area of about 6.2 cm² (mid-saggital section) in the adult human (see …
Cord prolapse
Occurs when the umbilical cord is outside the uterus. The fetus can then crush the cord, leading to a reduction in oxygen supply from the placenta and an increased risk for brain damage (see figure below). When evident, it constitutes an obstetrical emergency that requires delivery by cesarean section. See Amniotic fluid, Hypoxemia, Hypoxia, Placenta
Copula
A linking verb whose main function is to relate other elements of clause structure, especially subject and complement, as in ‘the cup is on the table’, ‘these are hamsters’. Thus, it is the verb of existence, such as the English verb ‘be’. A zero copula, a feature of African-American English, Arabic, Hebrew, Hungarian and Russian, …
Copying errors
Refers to mistakes made when chromosomes are being replicated (e.g., deletion of certain genes or making too many copies of certain genes). They can give rise to mutations during cell division and DNA replication, and as such are one of the prime movers of genetic changes that drive evolution. Some errors such as in a …