scholarly journals Abstract concept learning in a simple neural network inspired by the insect brain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex J. Cope ◽  
Eleni Vasilaki ◽  
Dorian Minors ◽  
Chelsea Sabo ◽  
James A.R. Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Learning Rates ◽  
Simple Neural Network

AbstractThe capacity to learn abstract concepts such as ‘sameness’ and ‘difference’ is considered a higher-order cognitive function, typically thought to be dependent on top-down neocortical processing. It is therefore surprising that honey bees apparantly have this capacity. Here we report a model of the structures of the honey bee brain that can learn same-ness and difference, as well as a range of complex and simple associative learning tasks. Our model is constrained by the known connections and properties of the mushroom body, including the protocerebral tract, and provides a good fit to the learning rates and performances of real bees in all tasks, including learning sameness and difference. The model proposes a novel mechanism for learning the abstract concepts of ‘sameness’ and ‘difference’ that is compatible with the insect brain, and is not dependent on top-down or executive control processing.

scholarly journals Abstract concept learning in a simple neural network inspired by the insect brain

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. e1006435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex J. Cope ◽  
Eleni Vasilaki ◽  
Dorian Minors ◽  
Chelsea Sabo ◽  
James A. R. Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Concept Learning ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Simple Neural Network

scholarly journals Drawing with Metaphors. Mediating ideational content in drawing through metaphors

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Berit Ingebrethsen
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Visual Metaphors ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic ◽  
Educational Issue ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Different Types ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
The Subject

It is not easy to express abstract concepts, such as time and society, in a drawing. The subject of this article is rooted in the educational issue of visually expressing themes represented by abstract concepts. However, it is possible to find means and devices to express such ideas. This article shows how metaphors can be used to express such ideas visually. Cognitive linguistic research argues that metaphors are crucial in the verbal communication of abstract concepts. This article also attempts to show that metaphors are important in visual communication. The cognitive linguistic metaphor theory of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson is used here to investigate how metaphors are used to construct meaning in the drawings of cartoonist and illustrator Finn Graff and artist Saul Steinberg. The article presents a few examples of how visual devices structure the abstract concept of time. It then proceeds to explain how symbols function as metonymies and provides an overview of the different types of metaphors and how they are used to express meaning in drawings. The article concludes by attempting to provide new insights regarding the use of visual metaphors.

scholarly journals Multimodal integration and stimulus categorization in putative mushroom body output neurons of the honeybee

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 171785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin F. Strube-Bloss ◽  
Wolfgang Rössler
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
Output Neurons ◽  
Electrophysiological Characterization ◽  
Nonlinear Integration

Flowers attract pollinating insects like honeybees by sophisticated compositions of olfactory and visual cues. Using honeybees as a model to study olfactory–visual integration at the neuronal level, we focused on mushroom body (MB) output neurons (MBON). From a neuronal circuit perspective, MBONs represent a prominent level of sensory-modality convergence in the insect brain. We established an experimental design allowing electrophysiological characterization of olfactory, visual, as well as olfactory–visual induced activation of individual MBONs. Despite the obvious convergence of olfactory and visual pathways in the MB, we found numerous unimodal MBONs. However, a substantial proportion of MBONs (32%) responded to both modalities and thus integrated olfactory–visual information across MB input layers. In these neurons, representation of the olfactory–visual compound was significantly increased compared with that of single components, suggesting an additive, but nonlinear integration. Population analyses of olfactory–visual MBONs revealed three categories: (i) olfactory, (ii) visual and (iii) olfactory–visual compound stimuli. Interestingly, no significant differentiation was apparent regarding different stimulus qualities within these categories. We conclude that encoding of stimulus quality within a modality is largely completed at the level of MB input, and information at the MB output is integrated across modalities to efficiently categorize sensory information for downstream behavioural decision processing.

scholarly journals Exploring Geometric Feature Hyper-Space in Data to Learn Representations of Abstract Concepts

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Sharma ◽  
Bernardete Ribeiro ◽  
Alexandre Miguel Pinto ◽  
F. Amílcar Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Training Data ◽  
Geometric Feature ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Concept Representation ◽  
Data Problem ◽  
Rans Modeling ◽  
Concrete Concepts

The term concept has been a prominent part of investigations in psychology and neurobiology where, mostly, it is mathematically or theoretically represented. Concepts are also studied in the computational domain through their symbolic, distributed and hybrid representations. The majority of these approaches focused on addressing concrete concepts notion, but the view of the abstract concept is rarely explored. Moreover, most computational approaches have a predefined structure or configurations. The proposed method, Regulated Activation Network (RAN), has an evolving topology and learns representations of abstract concepts by exploiting the geometrical view of concepts, without supervision. In the article, first, a Toy-data problem was used to demonstrate the RANs modeling. Secondly, we demonstrate the liberty of concept identifier choice in RANs modeling and deep hierarchy generation using the IRIS dataset. Thirdly, data from the IoT’s human activity recognition problem is used to show automatic identification of alike classes as abstract concepts. The evaluation of RAN with eight UCI benchmarks and the comparisons with five Machine Learning models establishes the RANs credibility as a classifier. The classification operation also proved the RANs hypothesis of abstract concept representation. The experiments demonstrate the RANs ability to simulate psychological processes (like concept creation and learning) and carry out effective classification irrespective of training data size.

Current- and Voltage-Clamp Recordings and Computer Simulations of Kenyon Cells in the Honeybee

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 2589-2603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Wüstenberg ◽  
Milena Boytcheva ◽  
Bernd Grünewald ◽  
John H. Byrne ◽  
Randolf Menzel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Voltage Clamp ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Delayed Rectifier ◽  
Transient Outward Current ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Type Model ◽  
Kenyon Cells ◽  
Fast Transient

The mushroom body of the insect brain is an important locus for olfactory information processing and associative learning. The present study investigated the biophysical properties of Kenyon cells, which form the mushroom body. Current- and voltage-clamp analyses were performed on cultured Kenyon cells from honeybees. Current-clamp analyses indicated that Kenyon cells did not spike spontaneously in vitro. However, spikes could be elicited by current injection in approximately 85% of the cells. Of the cells that produced spikes during a 1-s depolarizing current pulse, approximately 60% exhibited repetitive spiking, whereas the remaining approximately 40% fired a single spike. Cells that spiked repetitively showed little frequency adaptation. However, spikes consistently became broader and smaller during repetitive activity. Voltage-clamp analyses characterized a fast transient Na+ current ( INa), a delayed rectifier K+ current ( IK,V), and a fast transient K+ current ( IK,A). Using the neurosimulator SNNAP, a Hodgkin–Huxley-type model was developed and used to investigate the roles of the different currents during spiking. The model led to the prediction of a slow transient outward current ( IK,ST) that was subsequently identified by reevaluating the voltage-clamp data. Simulations indicated that the primary currents that underlie spiking are INa and IK,V, whereas IK,A and IK,ST primarily determined the responsiveness of the model to stimuli such as constant or oscillatory injections of current.

Cognitive control in altruism and self-control: A social cognitive neuroscience perspective

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-260
Author(s):  
Jeremy R. Gray ◽  
Todd S. Braver
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Social Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
The Face

The primrose path and prisoner's dilemma paradigms may require cognitive (executive) control: The active maintenance of context representations in lateral prefrontal cortex to provide top-down support for specific behaviors in the face of short delays or stronger response tendencies. This perspective suggests further tests of whether altruism is a type of self-control, including brain imaging, induced affect, and dual-task studies.

Using abstract concepts in impact-focussed organisational research

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lugosi
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Change In Practice ◽  
Organisational Research ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and examine the processes through which abstract concepts, or abstractions, can be utilised in co-creating knowledge within “impact-focussed” organisational and business research, i.e. applied research that primarily seeks to promote change in practice rather than principally aiming to make theoretical contributions to academic debates. The paper uses the abstraction “hospitality” as an empirical example and discusses the techniques used to “operationalise” this concept, i.e. make it understandable for research participants enabling researchers to use it within data generation and the creation of practical insights in organisational enquiry. Design/methodology/approach The study employed two methods: first, participant-generated photos; and second, two interactive workshops with 38 practitioners where the abstract concept “hospitality” was used to generate practical organisational insights. Findings The paper distinguishes between four stages: the elaboration of abstraction, concretisation of abstraction, probing perspectives on abstraction and exploring experiences of abstraction. It is argued that utilising specific techniques within these four stages facilitates: recognisability: the extent to which organisational stakeholders understand the content and meanings of the abstraction; and relatability: the extent to which stakeholders appreciate how the abstract concepts are relevant to interpreting their own practices and experiences. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study, used to develop and refine elicitation techniques, rather than to draw definitive conclusions about the applicability of specific abstract concepts. Nevertheless, reflecting on the processes and techniques used in the utilisation of abstractions here can help to operationalise them in future impact-focussed research. Originality/value The paper conceptualises the processes through which abstract concepts can be made apprehendable for non-specialist, non-academic practitioners. In doing so, it discusses how various elicitation techniques support the utilisation of abstractions in generating insights that can support the development of constructive, context-specific practices in organisations and businesses.

Neural Mechanisms for the Executive Control of Attention

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Earl K. Miller ◽  
Timothy J. Buschman
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Reciprocal Connections ◽  
Transmission Of Information ◽  
Neural Populations ◽  
Descending Projections ◽  
Selection Of

The prefrontal cortex is a source of internal control of attention as it captures three important components of an executive controller. First, it provides top-down selection of neural representations through descending projections, This top-down input may act by increasing the synchrony of local neural populations, enhancing their connectivity, and boosting the transmission of information. Second, intelligent top-down control of behaviour requires integrating diverse information. Neural representations in prefrontal cortex capture this breadth of information: representing anything from the specific contents of working memory to abstract categories and rules. Third, through reciprocal connections with the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex neurons are ideally situated to learn the ‘rules’ of behaviour that allow us to know what to attend to in a given situation. These connections may support an iterative, bootstrapping, process that allows for increasingly complex rules to be learned. The prefrontal cortex acts as a generalized executive controller, acting through mechanisms such as attention, to guide thoughts and behaviour.

scholarly journals Neural substrate for higher-order learning in an insect: Mushroom bodies are necessary for configural discriminations

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (43) ◽  
pp. E5854-E5862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Devaud ◽  
Thomas Papouin ◽  
Julie Carcaud ◽  
Jean-Christophe Sandoz ◽  
Bernd Grünewald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Mushroom Bodies ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Configural Learning ◽  
Storage And Retrieval ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Elemental Learning

Learning theories distinguish elemental from configural learning based on their different complexity. Although the former relies on simple and unambiguous links between the learned events, the latter deals with ambiguous discriminations in which conjunctive representations of events are learned as being different from their elements. In mammals, configural learning is mediated by brain areas that are either dispensable or partially involved in elemental learning. We studied whether the insect brain follows the same principles and addressed this question in the honey bee, the only insect in which configural learning has been demonstrated. We used a combination of conditioning protocols, disruption of neural activity, and optophysiological recording of olfactory circuits in the bee brain to determine whether mushroom bodies (MBs), brain structures that are essential for memory storage and retrieval, are equally necessary for configural and elemental olfactory learning. We show that bees with anesthetized MBs distinguish odors and learn elemental olfactory discriminations but not configural ones, such as positive and negative patterning. Inhibition of GABAergic signaling in the MB calyces, but not in the lobes, impairs patterning discrimination, thus suggesting a requirement of GABAergic feedback neurons from the lobes to the calyces for nonelemental learning. These results uncover a previously unidentified role for MBs besides memory storage and retrieval: namely, their implication in the acquisition of ambiguous discrimination problems. Thus, in insects as in mammals, specific brain regions are recruited when the ambiguity of learning tasks increases, a fact that reveals similarities in the neural processes underlying the elucidation of ambiguous tasks across species.

scholarly journals Contributions of different prefrontal cortical regions to abstract rule acquisition and reversal in monkeys

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo La Camera ◽  
Sebastien Bouret ◽  
Barry J. Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Rule Acquisition ◽  
Learning Rules ◽  
Association Task ◽  
Abstract Rule ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractThe ability to learn and follow abstract rules relies on intact prefrontal regions including the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Here, we investigate the specific roles of these brain regions in learning rules that depend critically on the formation of abstract concepts as opposed to simpler input-output associations. To this aim, we tested monkeys with bilateral removals of either LPFC or OFC on a rapidly learned task requiring the formation of the abstract concept of same vs. different. While monkeys with OFC removals were significantly slower than controls at both acquiring and reversing the concept-based rule, monkeys with LPFC removals were not impaired in acquiring the task, but were significantly slower at rule reversal. Neither group was impaired in the acquisition or reversal of a delayed visual cue-outcome association task without a concept-based rule. These results suggest that OFC is essential for the implementation of a concept-based rule, whereas LPFC seems essential for its modification once established.

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