Abstract:
This paper combines recent formulations of self-organization and neuronal processing to provide an account of cognitive dynamics from basic principles. We start by showin...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
This paper combines recent formulations of self-organization and neuronal processing to provide an account of cognitive dynamics from basic principles. We start by showing that inference (and autopoiesis) are emergent features of any (weakly mixing) ergodic random dynamical system. We then apply the emergent dynamics to action and perception in a way that casts action as the fulfillment of (Bayesian) beliefs about the causes of sensations. More formally, we formulate ergodic flows on global random attractors as a generalized descent on a free energy functional of the internal states of a system. This formulation rests on a partition of states based on a Markov blanket that separates internal states from hidden states in the external milieu. This separation means that the internal states effectively represent external states probabilistically. The generalized descent is then related to classical Bayesian (e.g., Kalman-Bucy) filtering and predictive coding-of the sort that might be implemented in the brain. Finally, we present two simulations. The first simulates a primordial soup to illustrate the emergence of a Markov blanket and (active) inference about hidden states. The second uses the same emergent dynamics to simulate action and action observation.
Published in: Proceedings of the IEEE ( Volume: 102, Issue: 4, April 2014)
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, London, U.K.
Karl Friston received undergraduate training in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, U.K. and completed his medical training at Kings College, London University, in 1983.
He is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by...Show More
Karl Friston received undergraduate training in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, U.K. and completed his medical training at Kings College, London University, in 1983.
He is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by...View more
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, London, U.K.
Biswa Sengupta received the M.Sc. degree in theoretical computer science from the University of York, York, U.K. and the Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K., in 2010, working on the tradeoffs between information encoding and energy consumption in single neurons.
As an electronics and computer engineering undergraduate at the University of York, he was interested in machine intelligence, consequently lea...Show More
Biswa Sengupta received the M.Sc. degree in theoretical computer science from the University of York, York, U.K. and the Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K., in 2010, working on the tradeoffs between information encoding and energy consumption in single neurons.
As an electronics and computer engineering undergraduate at the University of York, he was interested in machine intelligence, consequently lea...View more
Pontifical Gregorian University, Roma, Italy
Gennaro Auletta was born on August 27, 1957, in Naples, Italy. He received the Ph.D. degree in philosophy (“Leibniz‘s Philosophy of modalities”) from the Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, in 1993.
He is an Italian Philosopher of Science actively involved in scientific research. He is an internationally acknowledged expert in quantum mechanics and in the foundation and interpretation of this discipline. His main int...Show More
Gennaro Auletta was born on August 27, 1957, in Naples, Italy. He received the Ph.D. degree in philosophy (“Leibniz‘s Philosophy of modalities”) from the Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, in 1993.
He is an Italian Philosopher of Science actively involved in scientific research. He is an internationally acknowledged expert in quantum mechanics and in the foundation and interpretation of this discipline. His main int...View more
Contents The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, London, U.K.
Karl Friston received undergraduate training in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, U.K. and completed his medical training at Kings College, London University, in 1983.
He is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by schizophrenia research and theoretical studies of value learning—formulated as the dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia. His mathematical contributions include variational Laplacian procedures and generalized filtering for hierarchical Bayesian model inversion. He currently works on models of functional integration in the human brain and the principles that underlie neuronal interactions. His main contribution to theoretical neurobiology is a free-energy principle for action and perception (active inference).
Dr. Friston received the first Young Investigators Award in Human Brain Mapping (1996) and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999). In 2000, he was President of the international Organization of Human Brain Mapping. In 2003, he was awarded the Minerva Golden Brain Award and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006. In 2008, he received a Medal, Collège de France and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of York in 2011. He became of Fellow of the Society of Biology in 2012 and received the Weldon Memorial prize and Medal in 2013 for contributions to mathematical biology.
Karl Friston received undergraduate training in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, U.K. and completed his medical training at Kings College, London University, in 1983.
He is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by schizophrenia research and theoretical studies of value learning—formulated as the dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia. His mathematical contributions include variational Laplacian procedures and generalized filtering for hierarchical Bayesian model inversion. He currently works on models of functional integration in the human brain and the principles that underlie neuronal interactions. His main contribution to theoretical neurobiology is a free-energy principle for action and perception (active inference).
Dr. Friston received the first Young Investigators Award in Human Brain Mapping (1996) and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999). In 2000, he was President of the international Organization of Human Brain Mapping. In 2003, he was awarded the Minerva Golden Brain Award and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006. In 2008, he received a Medal, Collège de France and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of York in 2011. He became of Fellow of the Society of Biology in 2012 and received the Weldon Memorial prize and Medal in 2013 for contributions to mathematical biology.View more
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, London, U.K.
Biswa Sengupta received the M.Sc. degree in theoretical computer science from the University of York, York, U.K. and the Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K., in 2010, working on the tradeoffs between information encoding and energy consumption in single neurons.
As an electronics and computer engineering undergraduate at the University of York, he was interested in machine intelligence, consequently leading to his work on optimizing hardware–software codesign of complicated control systems such as fighter planes, space shuttles, etc. Inspired by classical work in artificial intelligence, he began to consider computations in biological systems, especially within and between neurons. As a result of this interest, his undergraduate thesis focused on short-term synaptic plasticity in pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. During summers, he worked on optimizing linear algebra libraries for statistical parametric modeling—a widely used tool in neuroimaging. During his time at the University of York, he primarily studied fear-conditioning circuits in the auditory pathway. He then joined the Max Planck Institute, Tübingen, Germany, for a second MS level course in neuroscience to supplement my understanding of the nervous system. At Tübingen, he had the opportunity to learn theoretical and experimental techniques on both rodents and nonhuman primates working in the intersection of neurophysiology, machine learning, optimization, and statistical physics. On completion of his Ph.D., he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, as a Wellcome Trust Fellow.
Biswa Sengupta received the M.Sc. degree in theoretical computer science from the University of York, York, U.K. and the Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K., in 2010, working on the tradeoffs between information encoding and energy consumption in single neurons.
As an electronics and computer engineering undergraduate at the University of York, he was interested in machine intelligence, consequently leading to his work on optimizing hardware–software codesign of complicated control systems such as fighter planes, space shuttles, etc. Inspired by classical work in artificial intelligence, he began to consider computations in biological systems, especially within and between neurons. As a result of this interest, his undergraduate thesis focused on short-term synaptic plasticity in pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. During summers, he worked on optimizing linear algebra libraries for statistical parametric modeling—a widely used tool in neuroimaging. During his time at the University of York, he primarily studied fear-conditioning circuits in the auditory pathway. He then joined the Max Planck Institute, Tübingen, Germany, for a second MS level course in neuroscience to supplement my understanding of the nervous system. At Tübingen, he had the opportunity to learn theoretical and experimental techniques on both rodents and nonhuman primates working in the intersection of neurophysiology, machine learning, optimization, and statistical physics. On completion of his Ph.D., he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, as a Wellcome Trust Fellow.View more
Pontifical Gregorian University, Roma, Italy
Gennaro Auletta was born on August 27, 1957, in Naples, Italy. He received the Ph.D. degree in philosophy (“Leibniz‘s Philosophy of modalities”) from the Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, in 1993.
He is an Italian Philosopher of Science actively involved in scientific research. He is an internationally acknowledged expert in quantum mechanics and in the foundation and interpretation of this discipline. His main interests in quantum information led him to focus on the way in which biological and cognitive systems deal with information. He is also active in the field of the dialog between science, philosophy and theology, and has been the Vice Director of the International Conference on Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories, held at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, in March 2009. He is an Aggregate Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University where, from 2003 to 2012, he held the position of Scientific Director of the Specialization in Science and Philosophy. He is also a Senior Researcher at the University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy. From 2003 to 2010, he was the Scientific Coordinator of the “Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest” Project (STOQ, a project under the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture involving seven Roman Pontifical Universities and supported by the John Templeton Foundation).
Dr. Auletta has been a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the International Society for Science and Religion since 2009.
Gennaro Auletta was born on August 27, 1957, in Naples, Italy. He received the Ph.D. degree in philosophy (“Leibniz‘s Philosophy of modalities”) from the Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, in 1993.
He is an Italian Philosopher of Science actively involved in scientific research. He is an internationally acknowledged expert in quantum mechanics and in the foundation and interpretation of this discipline. His main interests in quantum information led him to focus on the way in which biological and cognitive systems deal with information. He is also active in the field of the dialog between science, philosophy and theology, and has been the Vice Director of the International Conference on Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories, held at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, in March 2009. He is an Aggregate Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University where, from 2003 to 2012, he held the position of Scientific Director of the Specialization in Science and Philosophy. He is also a Senior Researcher at the University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy. From 2003 to 2010, he was the Scientific Coordinator of the “Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest” Project (STOQ, a project under the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture involving seven Roman Pontifical Universities and supported by the John Templeton Foundation).
Dr. Auletta has been a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the International Society for Science and Religion since 2009.View more