567 research outputs found
Session 5: Development, Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology
Proceedings of the Pittsburgh Workshop in History and Philosophy of Biology, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, March 23-24 2001 Session 5: Development, Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psycholog
If deep learning is the answer, then what is the question?
Neuroscience research is undergoing a minor revolution. Recent advances in
machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) research have opened up new
ways of thinking about neural computation. Many researchers are excited by the
possibility that deep neural networks may offer theories of perception,
cognition and action for biological brains. This perspective has the potential
to radically reshape our approach to understanding neural systems, because the
computations performed by deep networks are learned from experience, not
endowed by the researcher. If so, how can neuroscientists use deep networks to
model and understand biological brains? What is the outlook for neuroscientists
who seek to characterise computations or neural codes, or who wish to
understand perception, attention, memory, and executive functions? In this
Perspective, our goal is to offer a roadmap for systems neuroscience research
in the age of deep learning. We discuss the conceptual and methodological
challenges of comparing behaviour, learning dynamics, and neural representation
in artificial and biological systems. We highlight new research questions that
have emerged for neuroscience as a direct consequence of recent advances in
machine learning.Comment: 4 Figures, 17 Page
Emergent Computations in Trained Artificial Neural Networks and Real Brains
Synaptic plasticity allows cortical circuits to learn new tasks and to adapt
to changing environments. How do cortical circuits use plasticity to acquire
functions such as decision-making or working memory? Neurons are connected in
complex ways, forming recurrent neural networks, and learning modifies the
strength of their connections. Moreover, neurons communicate emitting brief
discrete electric signals. Here we describe how to train recurrent neural
networks in tasks like those used to train animals in neuroscience
laboratories, and how computations emerge in the trained networks.
Surprisingly, artificial networks and real brains can use similar computational
strategies.Comment: International Summer School on Intelligent Signal Processing for
Frontier Research and Industry, INFIERI 2021. Universidad Aut\'onoma de
Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 23 August - 4 September 202
Evolutionary connectionism: algorithmic principles underlying the evolution of biological organisation in evo-devo, evo-eco and evolutionary transitions
The mechanisms of variation, selection and inheritance, on which evolution by natural selection depends, are not fixed over evolutionary time. Current evolutionary biology is increasingly focussed on understanding how the evolution of developmental organisations modifies the distribution of phenotypic variation, the evolution of ecological relationships modifies the selective environment, and the evolution of reproductive relationships modifies the heritability of the evolutionary unit. The major transitions in evolution, in particular, involve radical changes in developmental, ecological and reproductive organisations that instantiate variation, selection and inheritance at a higher level of biological organisation. However, current evolutionary theory is poorly equipped to describe how these organisations change over evolutionary time and especially how that results in adaptive complexes at successive scales of organisation (the key problem is that evolution is self-referential, i.e. the products of evolution change the parameters of the evolutionary process). Here we first reinterpret the central open questions in these domains from a perspective that emphasises the common underlying themes. We then synthesise the findings from a developing body of work that is building a new theoretical approach to these questions by converting well-understood theory and results from models of cognitive learning. Specifically, connectionist models of memory and learning demonstrate how simple incremental mechanisms, adjusting the relationships between individually-simple components, can produce organisations that exhibit complex system-level behaviours and improve the adaptive capabilities of the system. We use the term “evolutionary connectionism” to recognise that, by functionally equivalent processes, natural selection acting on the relationships within and between evolutionary entities can result in organisations that produce complex system-level behaviours in evolutionary systems and modify the adaptive capabilities of natural selection over time. We review the evidence supporting the functional equivalences between the domains of learning and of evolution, and discuss the potential for this to resolve conceptual problems in our understanding of the evolution of developmental, ecological and reproductive organisations and, in particular, the major evolutionary transitions
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