Multilevel development of cognitive abilities in an artificial neural network.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America September 27, 2022 Konstantin Volzhenin, Jean-Pierre Changeux, Guillaume Dumas
A three-level computational model of information processing and cognitive development is introduced. The first sensorimotor level handles local nonconscious processing during a visual classification task. The second cognitive level globally integrates information via long-range connections, still nonconsciously. The third conscious level, based on global neuronal workspace theory, maintains self-sustained representations in the absence of sensory input, requiring interneurons. Results show that synaptic epigenesis—selection and stabilization of synapses at local and global scales—is necessary for solving trace and delay conditioning tasks. Dopamine enables credit assignment across temporal delays between perception and reward. Balanced spontaneous activity facilitates epigenesis, and a balanced excitatory/inhibitory ratio improves performance.