98,361 research outputs found
New Ideas for Brain Modelling
This paper describes some biologically-inspired processes that could be used
to build the sort of networks that we associate with the human brain. New to
this paper, a 'refined' neuron will be proposed. This is a group of neurons
that by joining together can produce a more analogue system, but with the same
level of control and reliability that a binary neuron would have. With this new
structure, it will be possible to think of an essentially binary system in
terms of a more variable set of values. The paper also shows how recent
research associated with the new model, can be combined with established
theories, to produce a more complete picture. The propositions are largely in
line with conventional thinking, but possibly with one or two more radical
suggestions. An earlier cognitive model can be filled in with more specific
details, based on the new research results, where the components appear to fit
together almost seamlessly. The intention of the research has been to describe
plausible 'mechanical' processes that can produce the appropriate brain
structures and mechanisms, but that could be used without the magical
'intelligence' part that is still not fully understood. There are also some
important updates from an earlier version of this paper
Statistical thinking: From Tukey to Vardi and beyond
Data miners (minors?) and neural networkers tend to eschew modelling, misled
perhaps by misinterpretation of strongly expressed views of John Tukey. I
discuss Vardi's views of these issues as well as other aspects of Vardi's work
in emision tomography and in sampling bias.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921707000000210 in the IMS
Lecture Notes Monograph Series
(http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Educational innovation, learning technologies and Virtual culture potential’
Learning technologies are regularly associated with innovative teaching but will they contribute to profound innovations in education itself? This paper addresses the question by building upon Merlin Donald's co‐evolutionary theory of mind, cognition and culture. He claimed that the invention of technologies for storing and sharing external symbol systems, such as writing, gave rise to a ‘theoretic culture’ with rich symbolic representations and a resultant need for formal education. More recently, Shaffer and Kaput have claimed that the development of external and shared symbol‐processing technologies is giving rise to an emerging ‘virtual culture’. They argue that mathematics curricula are grounded in theoretic culture and should change to meet the novel demands of ‘virtual culture’ for symbol‐processing and representational fluency. The generic character of their cultural claim is noted in this paper and it is suggested that equivalent pedagogic arguments are applicable across the educational spectrum. Hence, four general characteristics of virtual culture are proposed, against which applications of learning technologies can be evaluated for their innovative potential. Two illustrative uses of learning technologies are evaluated in terms of their ‘virtual culture potential’ and some anticipated questions about this approach are discussed towards the end of the paper
Investigation of sequence processing: A cognitive and computational neuroscience perspective
Serial order processing or sequence processing underlies
many human activities such as speech, language, skill
learning, planning, problem-solving, etc. Investigating
the neural bases of sequence processing enables us to
understand serial order in cognition and also helps in
building intelligent devices. In this article, we review
various cognitive issues related to sequence processing
with examples. Experimental results that give evidence
for the involvement of various brain areas will be described.
Finally, a theoretical approach based on statistical
models and reinforcement learning paradigm is
presented. These theoretical ideas are useful for studying
sequence learning in a principled way. This article
also suggests a two-way process diagram integrating
experimentation (cognitive neuroscience) and theory/
computational modelling (computational neuroscience).
This integrated framework is useful not only in the present
study of serial order, but also for understanding
many cognitive processes
How we might be able to Understand the Brain
Current methodologies in the neurosciences have difficulty in accounting for complex phenomena such as language, which can however be quite well characterised in phenomenological terms. This paper addresses the issue of unifying the two approaches. We typically understand complicated systems in terms of a collection of models, each characterisable in principle within a formal system, it being possible to explain higher-level properties in terms of lower level ones by means of a series of inferences based on these models. We consider the nervous system to be a mechanism for implementing the demands of an appropriate collection of models, each concerned with some aspect of brain and behaviour, the observer mechanism of Baas playing an important role in matching model and behaviour in this context. The discussion expounds these ideas in detail, showing their potential utility in connection with real problems of brain and behaviour, important areas where the ideas can be applied including the development of higher levels of abstraction, and linguistic behaviour, as described in the works of Karmiloff-Smith and Jackendoff respectively
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