Probabilistic functionalism: A unifying paradigm for the cognitive sciences

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier R. Movellan ◽  
Jonathan D. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Probabilistic Analysis ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Probabilistic Functionalism ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Brain

The probabilistic analysis of functional questions is maturing into a rigorous and coherent research paradigm that may unify the cognitive sciences, from the study of single neurons in the brain to the study of high level cognitive processes and distributed cognition. Endless debates about undecidable structural issues (modularity vs. interactivity, serial vs. parallel processing, iconic vs. propositional representations, symbolic vs. connectionist models) may be put aside in favor of a rigorous understanding of the problems solved by organisms in their natural environments. [Shepard; Tenenbaum & Griffiths]

Embodied Cognitive Robotics and the learning of sensorimotor schemes

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Lara ◽  
Dadai Astorga ◽  
Emmanuel Mendoza-Bock ◽  
Manuel Pardo ◽  
Esaú Escobar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Cognitive Robotics ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Artificial Agents ◽  
Direct Response ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Natural Agents ◽  
High Level

Embodied Cognitive Robotics focuses its attention on the design of artificial agents capable of performing cognitive tasks autonomously. A central issue in this consists in studying process by which agents learn through interaction with their environment. Embodied Cognitive Robotics aims to implement models of cognitive processes coming from Cognitive Sciences. The guidelines in this research area are a direct response to the shortcomings of Classical Artificial Intelligence, where high-level tasks and behaviors were studied. This article describes the work carried out in the Cognitive Robotics Laboratory at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM). Our work is based on the concept of low-level sensorimotor schemes coded by Internal Models, thus falling as a matter of course within the tenets of Embodied Cognition, particularly with the idea that cognition must be understood as occurring in agents that have a body with which they interact in a specific environment. It is through this interaction that learning emerges laying the ground for cognitive processes. Our research includes theoretical work laying the foundations of Embodied Cognitive Robotics, as well as work with artificial and with natural agents.

scholarly journals Coherent natural scene structure facilitates the extraction of task-relevant object information in visual cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kaiser ◽  
Greta Häberle ◽  
Radoslaw M. Cichy
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Rural Environment ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Scene Structure ◽  
Processing Pathways ◽  
Typical Composition ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Brain

AbstractLooking for objects within complex natural environments is a task everybody performs multiple times each day. In this study, we explore how the brain uses the typical composition of real-world environments to efficiently solve this task. We recorded fMRI activity while participants performed two different categorization tasks on natural scenes. In the object task, they indicated whether the scene contained a person or a car, while in the scene task, they indicated whether the scene depicted an urban or a rural environment. Critically, each scene was presented in an “intact” way, preserving its coherent structure, or in a “jumbled” way, with information swapped across quadrants. In both tasks, participants’ categorization was more accurate and faster for intact scenes. These behavioral benefits were accompanied by stronger responses to intact than to jumbled scenes across high-level visual cortex. To track the amount of object information in visual cortex, we correlated multivoxel response patterns during the two categorization tasks with response patterns evoked by people and cars in isolation. We found that object information in object- and body-selective cortex was enhanced when the object was embedded in an intact, rather than a jumbled scene. However, this enhancement was only found in the object task: When participants instead categorized the scenes, object information did not differ between intact and jumbled scenes. Together, these results indicate that coherent scene structure facilitates the extraction of object information in a task-dependent way, suggesting that interactions between the object and scene processing pathways adaptively support behavioral goals.

Roads not taken: The case for multiple functional-level routes to emotion

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-197
Author(s):  
Tim Dalgleish
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Functional Level ◽  
Comprehensive Account ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Brain

This review focuses on the theory of emotion outlined in Chapter 3 of Rolls's The brain and emotion. It is proposed that Rolls's emphasis on a relatively simple neurobiologically derived emotion scheme does not allow him to present a comprehensive account of emotion. Consequently, high-level cognitive processes, such as appraisal, end up being retained in the theory despite Rolls's skepticism about their utility. An argument is put forward that the concept of appraisal in the emotion literature is more than semantic convention and actually allows us to talk about multiple functional-level routes to the generation of emotion – a characteristic of the latest generation of theories in the cognition-emotion literature.

scholarly journals A Low-cost Webcam-based Eye Tracker and Saccade Measurement System

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Human Practices ◽  
High Level ◽  
Eye Location ◽  
The Brain

Eye movements are integrated with cognitive processes, which indeed make it a helpful research basis for the investigation of human practices. Eye movements can be deployed in discovering several cognitive processes of the brain. This research utilizes low-resolution webcam to develop an eye tracker and saccades measurement tool to extensively lower the gadgets expenses. A consistent algorithm is developed to suit the quality of the webcam using open-source software (Python) to record the time series of the eye location. Likewise, several algorithms are proposed to extract high-level eye movement saccadic measurements from the raw gaze outputs. A pilot study is performed on ten normal participants and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system is quick, simple and efficient for eye tracking and saccade measurement. The developed tool can be used by clinicians and medical physicians for the diagnosis and identification of neurological disorders

scholarly journals Artysta jako nieświadomy neurobiolog. Filmoznawczo-neurokognitywistyczna analiza myśli Hugo Münsterberga i Lwa Kuleszowa

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (34) ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Hanna Przybysz
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Film Studies ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Optical Illusions ◽  
Level Of Consciousness ◽  
The Brain

Przybysz Hanna, Artysta jako nieświadomy neurobiolog. Filmoznawczo-neurokognitywistyczna analiza myśli Hugo Münsterberga i Lwa Kuleszowa [An artist treated as an unconscious neurobiologist in the context of cognitive film studies: Hugo Münsterberg and Lev Kuleshov]. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 137–147. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.08. The history and theory of art have often shown, before the era of neurobiology, cognitive psychology and cognitive science, that great artists are unconscious neurobiologists, activating with their art the areas of the brain of recipients that cause aesthetic experience, and using in their works the principles of perception or optical illusions, unknown to ordinary mortals, and sometimes also to creators at the level of consciousness. The following considerations are intended to approximate and, to some extent, to rehabilitate and save film creators and theoreticians who are being forgotten, the ones who, long before the discoveries of the cognitive sciences, considered theoretically and carried out empirical experiments aimed at showing and explaining the mysteries of human perception and the influence of the film on the viewer. I will present the profiles of the two pioneers of pre-cognitive thought on the basis of film studies: Hugo Münsterberg and Lew Kuleszow. I will show that half a century before neuroscientific research, they dealt with the cognitive processes of human cognition. I will present the contemporary state of cognitive sciences to illustrate the pioneering and legitimacy of visions, intuitions and achievements of the above creators, who are underestimated and forgotten by time and the achievements of “cold” science, although neuroesthetics researchers who have been involved in the problem of perception of works of art and rehabilitation of the merits of the past in the area of neuroscience for some time cannot be denied their achievements. Ignoring their contribution and achievements in the science of cognition, especially as to this day they are continued in research laboratories, in my subjective opinion, equals the potential underestimation of Leonardo da Vinci’s contribution to medical science or Darwin’s to research emotions.

scholarly journals Enacting the aesthetic: A model for raw cognitive dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Vara Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Cognitive Dynamics ◽  
General Experience ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Brain

AbstractOne challenge faced by aesthetics is the development of an account able to trace out the continuities and discontinuities between general experience and aesthetic experiences. Regarding this issue, in this paper, I present an enactive model of some raw cognitive dynamics that might drive the progressive emergence of aesthetic experiences from the stream of general experience. The framework is based on specific aspects of John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy and embodied aesthetic theories, while also taking into account research in ecological psychology, cognitive sciences, and dynamic systems theory. The model focuses on dynamically relevant nodes at the pre-reflective and the reflective side of experience that would work as nested rhythmic constraints at different cognitive timescales with the potential to shunt experiences toward the aesthetic in everyday situations. My proposal constitutes a way to explore aesthetic experiences from an enactive perspective that regards them as transformative events in which cognitive processes entrain and are entrained by changes taking place in the environment, the brain, and the body.

scholarly journals A Review of Human–Computer Interaction and Virtual Reality Research Fields in Cognitive InfoCommunications

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2646
Author(s):  
Jozsef Katona
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Research Trends ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Information And Communication

Cognitive infocommunications (CogInfoCom) is a young and evolving discipline that is at the crossroads of information and communication technology (ICT) and cognitive sciences with many promising results. The goal of the field is to provide insights into how human cognitive capabilities can be merged and extended with the cognitive capabilities of the digital devices surrounding us, with the goal of enabling more seamless interactions between humans and artificially cognitive agents. Results in the field have already led to the appearance of numerous CogInfoCom-based technological innovations. For example, the field has led to a better understanding of how humans can learn more effectively, and the development of new kinds of learning environment have followed accordingly. The goal of this paper is to summarize some of the most recent results in CogInfoCom and to introduce important research trends, developments and innovations that play a key role in understanding and supporting the merging of cognitive processes with ICT.

Constructive realism: In defense of the objective reality of perspectives

Human Affairs ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Madzia
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
John Dewey ◽  
William James ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Objective Reality ◽  
Constructive Realism ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Epistemological Position ◽  
Epistemological Realism

AbstractThe paper proposes an outline of a reconciliatory approach to the perennial controversy between epistemological realism and anti-realism (constructionism). My main conceptual source in explaining this view is the philosophy of pragmatism, more specifically, the epistemological theories of George H. Mead, John Dewey, and also William James’ radical empiricism. First, the paper analyzes the pragmatic treatment of the goal-directedness of action, especially with regard to Mead’s notion of attitudes, and relates it to certain contemporary epistemological theories provided by the cognitive sciences (Maturana, Rizzolatti, Clark). Against this background, the paper presents a philosophical as well as empirical justification of why we should interpret the environment and its objects in terms of possibilities for action. In Mead’s view, the objects and events of our world emerge within stable patterns of organism-environment interactions, which he called “perspectives”. According to pragmatism as well as the aforementioned cognitive scientists, perception and other cognitive processes include not only neural processes in our heads but also the world itself. Elaborating on Mead’s concept of perspectives, the paper argues in favor of the epistemological position called “constructive realism.”

scholarly journals The role of cultural practices in the emergence of modern human intelligence

2008 ◽  
Vol 363 (1499) ◽  
pp. 2011-2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Hutchins
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Human Intelligence ◽  
Symbolic Representations ◽  
High Level ◽  
Human Brains

Innate cognitive capacities are orchestrated by cultural practices to produce high-level cognitive processes. In human activities, examples of this phenomenon range from everyday inferences about space and time to the most sophisticated reasoning in scientific laboratories. A case is examined in which chimpanzees enter into cultural practices with humans (in experiments) in ways that appear to enable them to engage in symbol-mediated thought. Combining the cultural practices perspective with the theories of embodied cognition and enactment suggests that the chimpanzees' behaviour is actually mediated by non-symbolic representations. The possibility that non-human primates can engage in cultural practices that give them the appearance of symbol-mediated thought opens new avenues for thinking about the coevolution of human culture and human brains.

scholarly journals A neurocognitive model of ideological thinking

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Leor Zmigrod
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Cognitive Principles ◽  
High Level ◽  
Ideological Attitudes ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Ideological behavior has traditionally been viewed as a product of social forces. Nonetheless, an emerging science suggests that ideological worldviews can also be understood in terms of neural and cognitive principles. The article proposes a neurocognitive model of ideological thinking, arguing that ideological worldviews may be manifestations of individuals’ perceptual and cognitive systems. This model makes two claims. First, there are neurocognitive antecedents to ideological thinking: the brain’s low-level neurocognitive dispositions influence its receptivity to ideological doctrines. Second, there are neurocognitive consequences to ideological engagement: strong exposure and adherence to ideological doctrines can shape perceptual and cognitive systems. This article details the neurocognitive model of ideological thinking and synthesizes the empirical evidence in support of its claims. The model postulates that there are bidirectional processes between the brain and the ideological environment, and so it can address the roles of situational and motivational factors in ideologically motivated action. This endeavor highlights that an interdisciplinary neurocognitive approach to ideologies can facilitate biologically informed accounts of the ideological brain and thus reveal who is most susceptible to extreme and authoritarian ideologies. By investigating the relationships between low-level perceptual processes and high-level ideological attitudes, we can develop a better grasp of our collective history as well as the mechanisms that may structure our political futures.

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