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Dynamical system with plastic self-organized velocity field as an alternative conceptual model of a cognitive system
journal contribution
posted on 2017-12-08, 11:30 authored by Natalia JansonNatalia Janson, Christopher J. MarsdenIt is well known that architecturally the brain is a neural network, i.e. a collection of many relatively simple units coupled flexibly. However, it has been unclear how the possession of this architecture enables higher-level cognitive functions, which are unique to the brain. Here, we consider the brain from the viewpoint of dynamical systems theory and hypothesize that the unique feature of the brain, the self-organized plasticity of its architecture, could represent the means of enabling the self-organized plasticity of its velocity vector field. We propose that, conceptually, the principle of cognition could amount to the existence of appropriate rules governing self-organization of the velocity field of a dynamical system with an appropriate account of stimuli. To support this hypothesis, we propose a simple non-neuromorphic mathematical model with a plastic self-organized velocity field, which has no prototype in physical world. This system is shown to be capable of basic cognition, which is illustrated numerically and with musical data. Our conceptual model could provide an additional insight into the working principles of the brain. Moreover, hardware implementations of plastic velocity fields self-organizing according to various rules could pave the way to creating artificial intelligence of a novel type.
Funding
C.J.M. was supported by EPSRC (UK) EP/P504236/1 during his PhD studies in Loughborough University.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Mathematical Sciences
Published in
Scientific ReportsVolume
7Citation
JANSON, N.B. and MARSDEN, C.J., 2017. Dynamical system with plastic self-organized velocity field as an alternative conceptual model of a cognitive system. Scientific Reports, 7, Article number: 17007.Publisher
Nature Publishing Group © The Author(s)Version
- VoR (Version of Record)
Publisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Acceptance date
2017-11-20Publication date
2017-12-05Notes
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Nature Publishing Group under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ISSN
2045-2322eISSN
2045-2322Publisher version
Language
- en