2,447 research outputs found
A Survey of Brain Inspired Technologies for Engineering
Cognitive engineering is a multi-disciplinary field and hence it is difficult
to find a review article consolidating the leading developments in the field.
The in-credible pace at which technology is advancing pushes the boundaries of
what is achievable in cognitive engineering. There are also differing
approaches to cognitive engineering brought about from the multi-disciplinary
nature of the field and the vastness of possible applications. Thus research
communities require more frequent reviews to keep up to date with the latest
trends. In this paper we shall dis-cuss some of the approaches to cognitive
engineering holistically to clarify the reasoning behind the different
approaches and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. We shall then show
how developments from seemingly disjointed views could be integrated to achieve
the same goal of creating cognitive machines. By reviewing the major
contributions in the different fields and showing the potential for a combined
approach, this work intends to assist the research community in devising more
unified methods and techniques for developing cognitive machines
The Mechanics of Embodiment: A Dialogue on Embodiment and Computational Modeling
Embodied theories are increasingly challenging traditional views of cognition by arguing that conceptual representations that constitute our knowledge are grounded in sensory and motor experiences, and processed at this sensorimotor level, rather than being represented and processed abstractly in an amodal conceptual system. Given the established empirical foundation, and the relatively underspecified theories to date, many researchers are extremely interested in embodied cognition but are clamouring for more mechanistic implementations. What is needed at this stage is a push toward explicit computational models that implement sensory-motor grounding as intrinsic to cognitive processes. In this article, six authors from varying backgrounds and approaches address issues concerning the construction of embodied computational models, and illustrate what they view as the critical current and next steps toward mechanistic theories of embodiment. The first part has the form of a dialogue between two fictional characters: Ernest, the �experimenter�, and Mary, the �computational modeller�. The dialogue consists of an interactive sequence of questions, requests for clarification, challenges, and (tentative) answers, and touches the most important aspects of grounded theories that should inform computational modeling and, conversely, the impact that computational modeling could have on embodied theories. The second part of the article discusses the most important open challenges for embodied computational modelling
Filling the Gaps: Hume and Connectionism on the Continued Existence of Unperceived Objects
In Book I, part iv, section 2 of the Treatise, "Of scepticism with regard to the senses," Hume presents two different answers to the question of how we come to believe in the continued existence of unperceived objects. He rejects his first answer shortly after its formulation, and the remainder of the section articulates an alternative account of the development of the belief. The account that Hume adopts, however, is susceptible to a number of insurmountable objections, which motivates a reassessment of his original proposal. This paper defends a version of Hume's initial explanation of the belief in continued existence and examines some of its philosophical implications
How nouns and verbs differentially affect the behavior of artificial organisms
This paper presents an Artificial Life and Neural Network (ALNN) model for the evolution of syntax. The simulation methodology provides a unifying approach for the study of the evolution of language and its interaction with other behavioral and neural factors. The model uses an object manipulation task to simulate the evolution of language based on a simple verb-noun rule. The analyses of results focus on the interaction between language and other non-linguistic abilities, and on the neural control of linguistic abilities. The model shows that the beneficial effects of language on non-linguistic behavior are explained by the emergence of distinct internal representation patterns for the processing of verbs and nouns
A Transfer of Sequence Function Via Equivalence in a Connectionist Network
Connectionist networks may provide useful models of
stimulus equivalence and transfer of function phenomena. Such
models have been applied to a range of behavioral tasks and have
demonstrated transfers of function via equivalence relations
following appropriate training, with networks accurately simulating
the behavior of human subjects. In the current study, a
connectionist network was pretrained on a series of equivalence
and sequence tasks to simulate the preexperimental experience of
an adult subject. It was then exposed to the equivalent of six
conditional discriminations, and was tested for the formation of
three 3-member equivalence classes (corresponding to A 1-A2-A3,
B1-B2-B3, C1-C2-C3). It was subsequently trained to produce a
pair of four part sequences (corresponding to B1 -+B2-+Ct1 -+B3
and B3-+ B2-+Ct2-+ B1 , where Ct1 and Ct2 represented contextual
cues) before being tested for transfer, through equivalence, of the
sequence responses to the C stimuli. Following appropriate
pretraining, the network showed the formation of three
equivalence classes and a transfer of sequence function to the
nontrained C stimuli (producing the novel sequences C1 -+C2-.
Ct1 -+C3 and C3-+C2-+Ct2-+C1) . A control network, which was
not exposed to conditional discrimination training, failed to
demonstrate equivalence and the transfer of sequence function,
as predicted by findings from experimental demonstrations with
human participants. Network performance was analyzed as a
function of amount of pretraining and a number of psychologically
plausible training methods are presented. The data suggest that
connectionist networks may provide accurate and plausible
models of stimulus equivalence and transfer of function
phenomena in natural language
A feedback model of visual attention
Feedback connections are a prominent feature of cortical anatomy and are likely
to have significant functional role in neural information processing. We present
a neural network model of cortical feedback that successfully simulates
neurophysiological data associated with attention. In this domain our model can
be considered a more detailed, and biologically plausible, implementation of the
biased competition model of attention. However, our model is more general as it
can also explain a variety of other top-down processes in vision, such as
figure/ground segmentation and contextual cueing. This model thus suggests that
a common mechanism, involving cortical feedback pathways, is responsible for a
range of phenomena and provides a unified account of currently disparate areas
of research
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