A cortical minicolumn (also called cortical microcolumn) is a vertical column through the cortical layers of the brain. Neurons within the microcolumn "receive common inputs, have common outputs, are interconnected, and may well constitute a fundamental computational unit of the cerebral cortex". Minicolumns comprise perhaps 80–120 neurons, except in the primate primary visual cortex (V1), where there are typically more than twice the number. There are about 2×10<sup>8</sup> minicolumns in humans. From calculations, the diameter of a minicolumn is about 28–40 μm.
thumb|Visualization of cortical minicolumns within a macrocolumn
Many sources support the existence of minicolumns, especially Mountcastle, who conclude "... the minicolumn must be considered a strong model for cortical organization" and "<nowiki>[the minicolumn is]</nowiki> the most basic and consistent template by which the neocortex organizes its neurones, pathways, and intrinsic circuits".
Cells in 50 μm minicolumn all have the same receptive field; adjacent minicolumns may have different fields.
Jones describes a variety of observations that may be interpreted as mini- or micro-columns and gives example numbers from 11 to 142 neurons per minicolumn.
thumb|3D render of a cortical minicolumn in the mouse visual cortex
Number of minicolumns
Estimates of the number of neurons in cortex or in neocortex are on the order of 2×10<sup>10</sup>. Most (perhaps 90%) of cortical neurons are neocortical neurons.
Johansson and Lansner
Size of minicolumns
The minicolumn measures of the order of 40–50 μm in transverse diameter;