Neural Information Flow

This artwork visualizes how information flows through cortical columns, from initial input through processing layers to output decisions.

 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │              NEURAL INFORMATION FLOW         │
 │                                              │
 │  THALAMUS      CORTICAL COLUMN    OUTPUTS    │
 │    ╱╲             ┌─────┐                    │
 │   ╱  ╲            │ L₁  │         ╭───╮      │
 │  ╱    ╲    ╭──────┤ L₂-3├─────────┤ ↑ ├─╮    │
 │ ╱INPUT ╲───┤ ▒▒▒▒ │     │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │   │ │    │
 │ ╲      ╱   │ ▒▒▒▒ │ L₄  │ ▓PROCESS│ A │ │    │
 │  ╲    ╱    │ ▒▒▒▒ │     │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │ C │ │    │
 │   ╲  ╱     ╰──────┤ L₅-6├─────────┤ T │ │    │
 │    ╲╱             │     │         │ ↓ │ │    │
 │                   └─────┘         ╰───╯ │    │
 │                     │ │              ▲  │    │
 │                     │ │              │  │    │
 │                     │ └──────────────┘  │    │
 │                     └──────────FEEDBACK─┘    │
 │                                              │
 │   L₁: CONNECTION  L₄: INPUT  L₅-6: OUTPUT    │
 │   L₂-3: PROCESSING                           │
 └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The diagram shows how the thalamus sends information to layer 4, which then routes to layers 2-3 for processing. After processing, layers 5-6 determine the output actions, with feedback loops maintaining the system. This non-linear flow creates the complex computational capabilities of our brain.