# How does a cortical layer identify features in the input

**URL:** <https://discourse.numenta.org/t/how-does-a-cortical-layer-identify-features-in-the-input/1968>\
**Category:** Numenta Theory\
**Tags:** spatial-pooling\
**Created:** [March 1, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/how-does-a-cortical-layer-identify-features-in-the-input/1968 "2017-03-01T19:43:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![rhyolight](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/rhyolight/32/3922_2.png) [@rhyolight](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/rhyolight)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/how-does-a-cortical-layer-identify-features-in-the-input/1968/2 "2017-03-01T19:48:34Z")

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> [@Any questions for Jeff?](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/any-questions-for-jeff/1965/6):
>
> I was curious how does the brain decide which neuron should be responsible for a feature.

We are modeling a cortical layer, so where this input comes from is largely irrelevant. The cortex is a homogenous structure that process inputs in the same way, no matter where the input comes from (for the most part). It only knows it gets connections to other neurons, but not what they are or where they come from.

In fact one region of cortex could get input from several other regions and sensory input at the same time. It won’t know this, it processes the input the same way.

> [@Any questions for Jeff?](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/any-questions-for-jeff/1965/6):
>
> So if we take a baby brain and start showing him pictures, does the brain align its neuron structure to be able to encode the pictures or its sort of a preexisting design that this neuron will be doing tilted lines, this one will be doing circles and so forth.

There is a lot going on in our sensory organs that we are not modeling in HTM. The eye is very complicated, and so is the cochlea. The equivalent things in HTM are [encoders](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Yqtpytif0) (I’m sorry about the hair, it was a phase), but these are extremely primitive compared to living sensory organs.

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