Visual binding, reentry, and neuronal synchrony in a physically situated brain-based device

By constructing and analyzing a physically situated brain-based device (i.e. a device with sensors and actuators whose behavior is guided by a simulated nervous system), we show that reentrant connectivity and dynamic synchronization can provide an effective mechanism for binding the visual features of objects

Biology of Consciousness

The Dynamic Core and Global Workspace hypotheses were independently put forward to provide mechanistic and biologically plausible accounts of how brains generate conscious mental content. The Dynamic Core proposes that reentrant neural activity in the thalamocortical system gives rise to conscious experience. Global Workspace reconciles the limited capacity of momentary conscious content with the vast repertoire of long-term memory. In this paper we show the close relationship between the two hypotheses. This relationship allows for a strictly biological account of phenomenal experience and subjectivity that is consistent with mounting experimental evidence. We examine the constraints on causal analyses of consciousness and suggest that there is now sufficient evidence to consider the design and construction of a conscious artifact

CHARACTERIZATION OF SPLENIC LYMPHOID CELLS IN FETAL AND NEWBORN MICE

In order to clarify the cellular events that precede the onset of immunological competence in the mouse, we have characterized and quantitated the lymphoid cells of the spleen as a function of age. Our results show that T cells and B cells both appeared in the spleens of Swiss-L mice as early as the 15th-16th day of gestation. Antigen-binding cells specific for each of three different antigens were also first detected during this same 24 h interval. The B cells and three varieties of antigen-binding cells increased in number rapidly and in parallel until about 1 wk after birth. The T cells, which were more numerous than B cells at first, increased in number somewhat more slowly. Coincident with the onset of response to antigen, there was a further increase in B cell numbers and a decrease in the T cell to B cell ratio. The capacity to respond to antigen by cellular proliferation and synthesis of antibody did not arise until about 2 wk after birth although there were no quantitative changes in the total numbers of T cells, B cells, and antigen-binding cells between 1 and 2 wk of age. Some qualitative change, such as the functional maturation of an antigen-reactive cell, may be required during this interval for the onset of this immunological response. Although the numbers of antigen-binding cells present in fetuses and young animals were smaller than in adults, we have as yet been unable to detect any restriction in the variety of specificities that can be expressed in fetuses, either in the kinds of antigens bound or in the range of avidities with which a single antigen is bound

Phase I Trial of a Tablet Formulation of Pilaralisib, a Pan‐Class I PI3K Inhibitor, in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors

Abstract Lessons Learned. A phase I study of the pan‐class I phosphoinositide 3‐kinase inhibitor pilaralisib (in capsule formulation) in advanced solid tumors established the maximum tolerated dose as 600 mg once daily.The current study investigated pilaralisib in tablet formulation.Pilaralisib tablets were associated with a favorable safety profile and preliminary antitumor activity.Based on pharmacokinetic data, the recommended phase II dose of pilaralisib tablets was established as 400 mg once daily. Background. A phase I trial of pilaralisib, an oral pan‐class I phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, established the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the capsule formulation in patients with advanced solid tumors as 600 mg once daily. This phase I study investigated pilaralisib in tablet formulation. Materials and Methods. Patients with advanced solid tumors received pilaralisib tablets (100–600 mg once daily). Primary endpoints were MTD and safety; secondary and exploratory endpoints included pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics, and efficacy. Results. Twenty‐two patients were enrolled. No dose‐limiting toxicities (DLTs) were reported. The most common treatment‐related adverse events were diarrhea (40.9%), fatigue (40.9%), decreased appetite (22.7%), and hyperglycemia (22.7%). Pilaralisib plasma exposure did not appear to increase dose‐proportionally. Steady‐state exposure was higher with pilaralisib tablet formulation at 400 mg than with pilaralisib capsule formulation at 400 or 600 mg (mean area under the curve [AUC0–24] 2,820,000 ng × h/mL vs. 2,653,000 and 1,930,000 ng × h/mL, respectively). Of 18 evaluable patients, 2 (11.1%) had a partial response (PR). Conclusion. Pilaralisib tablets were associated with a favorable safety profile and preliminary antitumor activity. MTD was not determined. The recommended phase II dose for pilaralisib tablets, based on PK data, was 400 mg once daily

Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus.

Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well-known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise - let alone understand - the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near-future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial-style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.This review was developed at an investigative workshop, “Analyzing Animal Vocal Communication Sequences” that took place on October 21–23 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee, sponsored by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). NIMBioS is an Institute sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture through NSF Awards #EF-0832858 and #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In addition to the authors, Vincent Janik participated in the workshop. D.T.B.’s research is currently supported by NSF DEB-1119660. M.A.B.’s research is currently supported by NSF IOS-0842759 and NIH R01DC009582. M.A.R.’s research is supported by ONR N0001411IP20086 and NOPP (ONR/BOEM) N00014-11-1-0697. S.L.DeR.’s research is supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. R.F.-i-C.’s research was supported by the grant BASMATI (TIN2011-27479-C04-03) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. E.C.G.’s research is currently supported by a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship. E.E.V.’s research is supported by CONACYT, Mexico, award number I010/214/2012.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.1216

Naturalizing Institutions: Evolutionary Principles and Application on the Case of Money

In recent extensions of the Darwinian paradigm into economics, the replicator-interactor duality looms large. I propose a strictly naturalistic approach to this duality in the context of the theory of institutions, which means that its use is seen as being always and necessarily dependent on identifying a physical realization. I introduce a general framework for the analysis of institutions, which synthesizes Searle's and Aoki's theories, especially with regard to the role of public representations (signs) in the coordination of actions, and the function of cognitive processes that underly rule-following as a behavioral disposition. This allows to conceive institutions as causal circuits that connect the population-level dynamics of interactions with cognitive phenomena on the individual level. Those cognitive phenomena ultimately root in neuronal structures. So, I draw on a critical restatement of the concept of the meme by Aunger to propose a new conceptualization of the replicator in the context of institutions, namely, the replicator is a causal conjunction between signs and neuronal structures which undergirds the dispositions that generate rule-following actions. Signs, in turn, are outcomes of population-level interactions. I apply this framework on the case of money, analyzing the emotions that go along with the use of money, and presenting a stylized account of the emergence of money in terms of the naturalized Searle-Aoki model. In this view, money is a neuronally anchored metaphor for emotions relating with social exchange and reciprocity. Money as a meme is physically realized in a replicator which is a causal conjunction of money artefacts and money emotions