Self-directedness, integration and higher cognition

In this paper I discuss connections between self-directedness, integration and higher cognition. I present a model of self-directedness as a basis for approaching higher cognition from a situated cognition perspective. According to this model increases in sensorimotor complexity create pressure for integrative higher order control and learning processes for acquiring information about the context in which action occurs. This generates complex articulated abstractive information processing, which forms the major basis for higher cognition. I present evidence that indicates that the same integrative characteristics found in lower cognitive process such as motor adaptation are present in a range of higher cognitive process, including conceptual learning. This account helps explain situated cognition phenomena in humans because the integrative processes by which the brain adapts to control interaction are relatively agnostic concerning the source of the structure participating in the process. Thus, from the perspective of the motor control system using a tool is not fundamentally different to simply controlling an arm

The simulation of action disorganisation in complex activities of daily living

Action selection in everyday goal-directed tasks of moderate complexity is known to be subject to breakdown following extensive frontal brain injury. A model of action selection in such tasks is presented and used to explore three hypotheses concerning the origins of action disorganisation: that it is a consequence of reduced top-down excitation within a hierarchical action schema network coupled with increased bottom-up triggering of schemas from environmental sources, that it is a more general disturbance of schema activation modelled by excessive noise in the schema network, and that it results from a general disturbance of the triggering of schemas by object representations. Results suggest that the action disorganisation syndrome is best accounted for by a general disturbance to schema activation, while altering the balance between top-down and bottom-up activation provides an account of a related disorder - utilisation behaviour. It is further suggested that ideational apraxia (which may result from lesions to left temporoparietal areas and which has similar behavioural consequences to action disorganisation syndrome on tasks of moderate complexity) is a consequence of a generalised disturbance of the triggering of schemas by object representations. Several predictions regarding differences between action disorganisation syndrome and ideational apraxia that follow from this interpretation are detailed

Population-level neural coding for higher cognition

Higher cognition encompasses advanced mental processes that enable complex thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, and abstract reasoning. These functions involve integrating information from multiple sensory modalities and organizing action plans based on the abstraction of past information. The neural activity underlying these functions is often complex, and the contribution of single neurons in supporting population-level representations of cognitive variables is not yet clear. In this thesis, I investigated the neural mechanisms underlying higher cognition in higher-order brain regions with single-neuron resolution in human and non-human primates performing working memory tasks. I aimed to understand how representations are arranged and how neurons contribute to the population code. In the first manuscript, I investigated the population-level neural coding for the maintenance of numbers in working memory within the parietal association cortex. By analyzing intra-operative intracranial micro-electrode array recording data, I uncovered distinct representations for numbers in both symbolic and nonsymbolic formats. In the second manuscript, I delved deeper into the neuronal organizing principles of population coding to address the ongoing debate surrounding memory maintenance mechanisms. I unveiled sparse structures in the neuronal implementation of representations and identified biologically meaningful components that can be directly communicated to downstream neurons. These components were linked to subpopulations of neurons with distinct physiological properties and temporal dynamics, enabling the active maintenance of working memory while resisting distraction. Lastly, using an artificial neural network model, I demonstrated that the sparse implementation of temporally modulated working memory representations is preferred in recurrently connected neural populations such as the prefrontal cortex. In summary, this thesis provides a comprehensive investigation of higher cognition in higher-order brain regions, focusing on working memory tasks involving numerical stimuli. By examining neural population coding and unveiling sparse structures in the neuronal implementation of representations, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying working memory and higher cognitive functions

Cognitive Maps

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Research On and Activities For Mathematically Gifted Students

Education; Teaching; Learnin

Connecting ETC and ARC: The Beginnings of an Integrative Framework for Working with Children with Relational Trauma, a Literature Review

Relational trauma is an impactful experience, affecting a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Children with relational trauma experiences are particularly vulnerable due to being in a stage of active development. Relational trauma can have a lasting impact on a child’s psychosocial, cognitive, and neurological development. This literature review explores the current research concerning children who have experienced relational trauma, the developmental impact of relational trauma, the treatment needs of this population, and a current, evidence-based treatment option for this population—the Attachment, Self-Regulation, Competency (ARC) framework. On the basis of this research, this literature review will outline how expressive arts therapy and the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) can be used as effective treatment options for this population. Additionally, this literature review will highlight treatment correlations between the ETC and ARC, demonstrating the beginnings of an ETC/ARC integrative framework for working with children with relational trauma

Neurobiological mechanisms for language, symbols and concepts: Clues from brain-constrained deep neural networks

Neural networks are successfully used to imitate and model cognitive processes. However, to provide clues about the neurobiological mechanisms enabling human cognition, these models need to mimic the structure and function of real brains. Brain-constrained networks differ from classic neural networks by implementing brain similarities at different scales, ranging from the micro- and mesoscopic levels of neuronal function, local neuronal links and circuit interaction to large-scale anatomical structure and between-area connectivity. This review shows how brain-constrained neural networks can be applied to study in silico the formation of mechanisms for symbol and concept processing and to work towards neurobiological explanations of specifically human cognitive abilities. These include verbal working memory and learning of large vocabularies of symbols, semantic binding carried by specific areas of cortex, attention focusing and modulation driven by symbol type, and the acquisition of concrete and abstract concepts partly influenced by symbols. Neuronal assembly activity in the networks is analyzed to deliver putative mechanistic correlates of higher cognitive processes and to develop candidate explanations founded in established neurobiological principles