Effects of non-synaptic neuronal interaction in cortex on synchronization and learning

A cortical network model of cognitive and emotional influences in human decision making

Decision making (DM)(2) is a complex process that appears to involve several brain structures. In particular, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) seem to be essential in human decision making, where both emotional and cognitive aspects are taken into account. In this paper, we present a computational network model representing the neural information processing of DM, from perception to behavior. We model the population dynamics of the three neural structures (amygdala, OFC and LPFC), as well as their interaction. In our model, the neurodynamic activity of amygdala and OFC represents the neural correlates of secondary emotion, while the activity of certain neural populations in OFC alone represents the outcome expectancy of different options. The cognitive/rational aspect of DM is associated with LPFC. Our model is intended to give insights on the emotional and cognitive processes involved in DM under various internal and external contexts. Different options for actions are represented by the oscillatory activity of cell assemblies, which may change due to experience and learning. Knowledge and experience of the outcome of our decisions and actions can eventually result in changes in our neural structures, attitudes and behaviors. Simulation results may have implications for how we make decisions for our individual actions, as well as for societal choices, where we take examples from transport and its impact on CO2 emissions and climate change.

A biologically inspired model for pattern recognition

In this paper, a novel bionic model and its performance in pattern recognition are presented and discussed. The model is constructed from a bulb model and a three-layered cortical model, mimicking the main features of the olfactory system. The olfactory bulb and cortex models are connected by feedforward and feedback fibers with distributed delays. The Breast Cancer Wisconsin dataset consisting of data from 683 patients divided into benign and malignant classes is used to demonstrate the capacity of the model to learn and recognize patterns, even when these are deformed versions of the originally learned patterns. The performance of the novel model was compared with three artificial neural networks (ANNs), a back-propagation network, a support vector machine classifier, and a radial basis function classifier. All the ANNs and the olfactory bionic model were tested in a benchmark study of a standard dataset. Experimental results show that the bionic olfactory system model can learn and classify patterns based on a small training set and a few learning trials to reflect biological intelligence to some extent.