scholarly journals Towards a computational phenomenology of mental action: modelling meta-awareness and attentional control with deep parametric active inference

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Sandved-Smith ◽  
Casper Hesp ◽  
Jérémie Mattout ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
Antoine Lutz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Control ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Hierarchical Level ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Mental Action ◽  
Perceptual Object ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Policy Selection ◽  
Current Content ◽  
And Control

Abstract Meta-awareness refers to the capacity to explicitly notice the current content of consciousness and has been identified as a key component for the successful control of cognitive states, such as the deliberate direction of attention. This paper proposes a formal model of meta-awareness and attentional control using hierarchical active inference. To do so, we cast mental action as policy selection over higher-level cognitive states and add a further hierarchical level to model meta-awareness states that modulate the expected confidence (precision) in the mapping between observations and hidden cognitive states. We simulate the example of mind-wandering and its regulation during a task involving sustained selective attention on a perceptual object. This provides a computational case study for an inferential architecture that is apt to enable the emergence of these central components of human phenomenology, namely, the ability to access and control cognitive states. We propose that this approach can be generalized to other cognitive states, and hence, this paper provides the first steps towards the development of a computational phenomenology of mental action and more broadly of our ability to monitor and control our own cognitive states. Future steps of this work will focus on fitting the model with qualitative, behavioural, and neural data.

scholarly journals Towards a formal neurophenomenology of metacognition: modelling meta-awareness, mental action, and attentional control with deep active inference

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Sandved Smith ◽  
Casper Hesp ◽  
Antoine Lutz ◽  
Jérémie Mattout ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Condition ◽  
Hierarchical Level ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Mental Action ◽  
Covert Action ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
And Control ◽  
Monitor And Control

Metacognition refers to the capacity to access, monitor, and control aspects of one’s mental operations and is central to the human condition and experience. Disorders of metacognition are a hallmark of many psychiatric conditions and the training of metacognitive skills is central in education and in many psychotherapies. This paper provides first steps towards the development of a formal neurophenomenology of metacognition. To do so, we leverage the tools of the active inference framework, extending a previous computational model of implicit metacognition by adding a hierarchical level to model explicit (conscious) meta-awareness and the voluntary control of attention through covert action. Using the example of mind-wandering and its regulation in focused attention, we provide a computational proof of principle for an inferential architecture apt to enable the emergence of central components of metacognition: namely, the ability to access, monitor, and control cognitive states.

scholarly journals Publisher’s note to: towards a computational phenomenology of mental action: modelling meta-awareness and attentional control with deep parametric active inference

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Sandved-Smith ◽  
Casper Hesp ◽  
Jérémie Mattout ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
Antoine Lutz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Control ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Mental Action

scholarly journals A Variational Approach to Scripts

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahault Albarracin ◽  
Axel Constant ◽  
Karl J. Friston ◽  
Maxwell James D. Ramstead
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Behavioral Modeling ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Action Perception ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Action Sequences

This paper proposes a formal reconstruction of the script construct by leveraging the active inference framework, a behavioral modeling framework that casts action, perception, emotions, and attention as processes of (Bayesian or variational) inference. We propose a first principles account of the script construct that integrates its different uses in the behavioral and social sciences. We begin by reviewing the recent literature that uses the script construct. We then examine the main mathematical and computational features of active inference. Finally, we leverage the resources of active inference to offer a formal model of scripts. Our integrative model accounts for the dual nature of scripts (as internal, psychological schema used by agents to make sense of event types and as constitutive behavioral categories that make up the social order) and also for the stronger and weaker conceptions of the construct (which do and do not relate to explicit action sequences, respectively).

scholarly journals Dream to explore: 5-HT2a as adaptive temperature parameter for sophisticated affective inference

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Safron ◽  
Zahra Sheikhbahaee
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Policy Selection ◽  
Temperature Parameter ◽  
Uncertainty Parameter ◽  
Absorbing States

Relative to other neuromodulators, serotonin (5-HT) has received far less attention in machine learning and active inference. We will review prior work interpreting 5-HT1a signaling as an uncertainty parameter with opponency to dopamine. We will then discuss how 5-HT2a receptors may promote more exploratory policy selection by enhancing imaginative planning (as sophisticated affective inference). Finally, we will briefly comment on how qualitatively different effects may be observed across low and high levels of 5-HT2a signaling, where the latter may help agents to change self-adversarial policies and break free of maladaptive absorbing states in POMDPs.

scholarly journals Deeply Felt Affect: The Emergence of Valence in Deep Active Inference

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-49
Author(s):  
Casper Hesp ◽  
Ryan Smith ◽  
Thomas Parr ◽  
Micah Allen ◽  
Karl J. Friston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Mental Action ◽  
Sensory Data ◽  
Context Learning ◽  
Domain Generality ◽  
Internal Action ◽  
Action Model

The positive-negative axis of emotional valence has long been recognized as fundamental to adaptive behavior, but its origin and underlying function have largely eluded formal theorizing and computational modeling. Using deep active inference, a hierarchical inference scheme that rests on inverting a model of how sensory data are generated, we develop a principled Bayesian model of emotional valence. This formulation asserts that agents infer their valence state based on the expected precision of their action model—an internal estimate of overall model fitness (“subjective fitness”). This index of subjective fitness can be estimated within any environment and exploits the domain generality of second-order beliefs (beliefs about beliefs). We show how maintaining internal valence representations allows the ensuing affective agent to optimize confidence in action selection preemptively. Valence representations can in turn be optimized by leveraging the (Bayes-optimal) updating term for subjective fitness, which we label affective charge (AC). AC tracks changes in fitness estimates and lends a sign to otherwise unsigned divergences between predictions and outcomes. We simulate the resulting affective inference by subjecting an in silico affective agent to a T-maze paradigm requiring context learning, followed by context reversal. This formulation of affective inference offers a principled account of the link between affect, (mental) action, and implicit metacognition. It characterizes how a deep biological system can infer its affective state and reduce uncertainty about such inferences through internal action (i.e., top-down modulation of priors that underwrite confidence). Thus, we demonstrate the potential of active inference to provide a formal and computationally tractable account of affect. Our demonstration of the face validity and potential utility of this formulation represents the first step within a larger research program. Next, this model can be leveraged to test the hypothesized role of valence by fitting the model to behavioral and neuronal responses.

scholarly journals Introducing a Bayesian model of selective attention based on active inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Berk Mirza ◽  
Rick A. Adams ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
Thomas Parr
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Information Gain ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Expected Information Gain ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Hidden States ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Abstract Information gathering comprises actions whose (sensory) consequences resolve uncertainty (i.e., are salient). In other words, actions that solicit salient information cause the greatest shift in beliefs (i.e., information gain) about the causes of our sensations. However, not all information is relevant to the task at hand: this is especially the case in complex, naturalistic scenes. This paper introduces a formal model of selective attention based on active inference and contextual epistemic foraging. We consider a visual search task with a special emphasis on goal-directed and task-relevant exploration. In this scheme, attention modulates the expected fidelity (precision) of the mapping between observations and hidden states in a state-dependent or context-sensitive manner. This ensures task-irrelevant observations have little expected information gain, and so the agent – driven to reduce expected surprise (i.e., uncertainty) – does not actively seek them out. Instead, it selectively samples task-relevant observations, which inform (task-relevant) hidden states. We further show, through simulations, that the atypical exploratory behaviours in conditions such as autism and anxiety may be due to a failure to appropriately modulate sensory precision in a context-specific way.

Shaping motor activities of young football players in comprehensive training using the Fitlight system

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (91) ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
Henryk Duda
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Orientation ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Mental Action ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
And Control ◽  
Experimental Group

Introduction. In the actions of football players, due to the dynamics of the playing field, the ability of perception is of great importance for game effectiveness. This instruction not only determines good orientation in the game, but also significantly facilitates perception in action. Therefore, considering its importance for an effective game, apt methods are being sought out to improve the level of this disposition among football players. Aim of the work and research questions. This study is of utilitarian nature. The main research objective is aimed at modifying the current concept of teaching methodology in sports games on the example of football, which involves activation of a player’s orientational and spatial spheres. The following research questions were posed: • Will the implementation of the Fitlight system for teaching football techniques improve the spatial orientation of young football players? • Will the use of the Fitlight system in training increase the level of action in the game among young footballers? • Can football training be improved by introducing the Fitlight system? Materials and test methods. The method of pedagogical experiment was used to study the effectiveness (learning and teaching) of special motor skills. The technique of parallel groups was used: experimental (E) and control (C). In experimental research, the independent variable was the method of developing and transmitting information using the Fitlight system based on the mental action of the player, c considering the development of spatial orientation in the process of teaching movement activities (special techniques). The dependent variables were measurable results concerning development of the spatial orientation level in practical activities and the players’ mastery of technical activities in game conditions. Research was conducted on an annual basis (in 2018-2019) among young football players of RKS Garbarnia Kraków - junior class C1 - age of the respondents: 14-15 years. The study participants comprised 30 young players, divided into 2 subgroups: experimental (E) and control (C), each consisting of 15 players. The experimental group participated in the experimental training unit twice a week; practical classes lasting 90 minutes. A total of 60 training units were conducted. These classes were carried out using the Fitlight system to teach technical activities that were characterised by a greater pool of exercises in the field of spatial orientation and also including greater mentalisation (concentration, divisibility of attention). Results. Analysis of the research results allowed to confirm the significance of training using the Fitlight system. The experimental group, in relation to the control, demonstrated higher values in the level of spatial orientation and, above all, higher parameters in the simulated game.

The Board of Directors

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Bainbridge
Keyword(s):  
Board Of Directors ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Corporate Decisions ◽  
Corporate Form ◽  
Economic Rationale ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
And Control

This chapter explores issues relating to the board of directors. Focusing on the formal model of corporate governance, it considers why corporate decisions are made through the exercise of hierarchical corporate authority instead of consensus. Specifically, it examines the survival advantage that a bureaucratic hierarchy confers on a large corporation and which of its constituencies should elect the board. It first outlines the key functions of the board of directors drawing on the unitary and dual board models. It then asks why corporations are run by boards of directors rather than by shareholders or the chief executive officer. It discusses why ownership and control are separated in the corporate form, with special emphasis on the US experience, along with the economic rationale for vesting control in a group rather than in an individual. Finally, it analyses how boards fail and looks at the reforms that have been implemented to improve their performance.

scholarly journals A tale of two densities: active inference is enactive inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell JD Ramstead ◽  
Michael D Kirchhoff ◽  
Karl J Friston
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Generative Models ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Energy Principle ◽  
Free Energy Principle ◽  
The One ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Selection Of

The aim of this article is to clarify how best to interpret some of the central constructs that underwrite the free-energy principle (FEP) – and its corollary, active inference – in theoretical neuroscience and biology: namely, the role that generative models and variational densities play in this theory. We argue that these constructs have been systematically misrepresented in the literature, because of the conflation between the FEP and active inference, on the one hand, and distinct (albeit closely related) Bayesian formulations, centred on the brain – variously known as predictive processing, predictive coding or the prediction error minimisation framework. More specifically, we examine two contrasting interpretations of these models: a structural representationalist interpretation and an enactive interpretation. We argue that the structural representationalist interpretation of generative and recognition models does not do justice to the role that these constructs play in active inference under the FEP. We propose an enactive interpretation of active inference – what might be called enactive inference. In active inference under the FEP, the generative and recognition models are best cast as realising inference and control – the self-organising, belief-guided selection of action policies – and do not have the properties ascribed by structural representationalists.

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