Figure A1.

(a) Within cortical areas columns arise at mesoscale, with mirror symmetry. In the small area bottom left of the cortical areas, the columns are shown blurred into each other, as a reminder that column formation need not be anatomically distinct. (b) Left. Superficial patch connections surround and interconnect columnar zones in layers 2,3, as seen in cortical surface view, producing between-scale mirroring. (b) Right. Cells of the columnar zone in cortical depth. Maximization of synchrony in interpenetrating sparsely coupled networks leads to multiple closed loop systems akin to Mobius strips. (c) Adjacent columns become arranged in approximate mirror symmetry, each with its neighbors.