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Astle DE, Johnson MH, Akarca D. Toward computational neuroconstructivism: a framework for developmental systems neuroscience. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:726-744. [PMID: 37263856 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Brain development is underpinned by complex interactions between neural assemblies, driving structural and functional change. This neuroconstructivism (the notion that neural functions are shaped by these interactions) is core to some developmental theories. However, due to their complexity, understanding underlying developmental mechanisms is challenging. Elsewhere in neurobiology, a computational revolution has shown that mathematical models of hidden biological mechanisms can bridge observations with theory building. Can we build a similar computational framework yielding mechanistic insights for brain development? Here, we outline the conceptual and technical challenges of addressing this theory gap, and demonstrate that there is great potential in specifying brain development as mathematically defined processes operating within physical constraints. We provide examples, alongside broader ingredients needed, as the field explores computational explanations of system-wide development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duncan E Astle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, UK; MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK.
| | - Mark H Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK; Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, WC1E 7JL, UK
| | - Danyal Akarca
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
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Alicea B, Gordon R, Parent J. Embodied cognitive morphogenesis as a route to intelligent systems. Interface Focus 2023; 13:20220067. [PMID: 37065267 PMCID: PMC10102728 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The embryological view of development is that coordinated gene expression, cellular physics and migration provides the basis for phenotypic complexity. This stands in contrast with the prevailing view of embodied cognition, which claims that informational feedback between organisms and their environment is key to the emergence of intelligent behaviours. We aim to unite these two perspectives as embodied cognitive morphogenesis, in which morphogenetic symmetry breaking produces specialized organismal subsystems which serve as a substrate for the emergence of autonomous behaviours. As embodied cognitive morphogenesis produces fluctuating phenotypic asymmetry and the emergence of information processing subsystems, we observe three distinct properties: acquisition, generativity and transformation. Using a generic organismal agent, such properties are captured through models such as tensegrity networks, differentiation trees and embodied hypernetworks, providing a means to identify the context of various symmetry-breaking events in developmental time. Related concepts that help us define this phenotype further include concepts such as modularity, homeostasis and 4E (embodied, enactive, embedded and extended) cognition. We conclude by considering these autonomous developmental systems as a process called connectogenesis, connecting various parts of the emerged phenotype into an approach useful for the analysis of organisms and the design of bioinspired computational agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradly Alicea
- OpenWorm Foundation, Boston, MA, USA
- Orthogonal Research and Education Laboratory, Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Richard Gordon
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Jesse Parent
- Orthogonal Research and Education Laboratory, Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA
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Dvoretskii S, Gong Z, Gupta A, Parent J, Alicea B. Braitenberg Vehicles as Developmental Neurosimulation. ARTIFICIAL LIFE 2022; 28:369-395. [PMID: 35881679 DOI: 10.1162/artl_a_00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Connecting brain and behavior is a longstanding issue in the areas of behavioral science, artificial intelligence, and neurobiology. As is standard among models of artificial and biological neural networks, an analogue of the fully mature brain is presented as a blank slate. However, this does not consider the realities of biological development and developmental learning. Our purpose is to model the development of an artificial organism that exhibits complex behaviors. We introduce three alternate approaches to demonstrate how developmental embodied agents can be implemented. The resulting developmental Braitenberg vehicles (dBVs) will generate behaviors ranging from stimulus responses to group behavior that resembles collective motion. We will situate this work in the domain of artificial brain networks along with broader themes such as embodied cognition, feedback, and emergence. Our perspective is exemplified by three software instantiations that demonstrate how a BV-genetic algorithm hybrid model, a multisensory Hebbian learning model, and multi-agent approaches can be used to approach BV development. We introduce use cases such as optimized spatial cognition (vehicle-genetic algorithm hybrid model), hinges connecting behavioral and neural models (multisensory Hebbian learning model), and cumulative classification (multi-agent approaches). In conclusion, we consider future applications of the developmental neurosimulation approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Bradly Alicea
- Orthogonal Research and Education Laboratory
- OpenWorm Foundation.
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van den Bos W, Bruckner R, Nassar MR, Mata R, Eppinger B. Computational neuroscience across the lifespan: Promises and pitfalls. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 33:42-53. [PMID: 29066078 PMCID: PMC5916502 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Revised: 08/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the application of computational modeling in studies on age-related changes in decision making and learning has gained in popularity. One advantage of computational models is that they provide access to latent variables that cannot be directly observed from behavior. In combination with experimental manipulations, these latent variables can help to test hypotheses about age-related changes in behavioral and neurobiological measures at a level of specificity that is not achievable with descriptive analysis approaches alone. This level of specificity can in turn be beneficial to establish the identity of the corresponding behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms. In this paper, we will illustrate applications of computational methods using examples of lifespan research on risk taking, strategy selection and reinforcement learning. We will elaborate on problems that can occur when computational neuroscience methods are applied to data of different age groups. Finally, we will discuss potential targets for future applications and outline general shortcomings of computational neuroscience methods for research on human lifespan development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter van den Bos
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; International Max Planck Research School LIFE, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Rasmus Bruckner
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; International Max Planck Research School LIFE, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthew R Nassar
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, USA
| | - Rui Mata
- Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ben Eppinger
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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SHULTZ THOMASR, RIVEST FRANÇOIS, EGRI LÁSZLÓ, THIVIERGE JEANPHILIPPE, DANDURAND FRÉDÉRIC. COULD KNOWLEDGE-BASED NEURAL LEARNING BE USEFUL IN DEVELOPMENTAL ROBOTICS? THE CASE OF KBCC. INT J HUM ROBOT 2011. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219843607001035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The new field of developmental robotics faces the formidable challenge of implementing effective learning mechanisms in complex, dynamic environments. We make a case that knowledge-based learning algorithms might help to meet this challenge. A constructive neural learning algorithm, knowledge-based cascade-correlation (KBCC), autonomously recruits previously-learned networks in addition to the single hidden units recruited by ordinary cascade-correlation. This enables learning by analogy when adequate prior knowledge is available, learning by induction from examples when there is no relevant prior knowledge, and various combinations of analogy and induction. A review of experiments with KBCC indicates that recruitment of relevant existing knowledge typically speeds learning and sometimes enables learning of otherwise impossible problems. Some additional domains of interest to developmental robotics are identified in which knowledge-based learning seems essential. The characteristics of KBCC in relation to other knowledge-based neural learners and analogical reasoning are summarized as is the neurological basis for learning from knowledge. Current limitations of this approach and directions for future work are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- THOMAS R. SHULTZ
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada
- School of Computer Science, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - FRANÇOIS RIVEST
- Département d'Informatique et de Recherche Opérationnelle, Université de Montréal, CP 6128 succursale Centre Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - LÁSZLÓ EGRI
- School of Computer Science, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - JEAN-PHILIPPE THIVIERGE
- Département de Physiologie, Université de Montréal, CP 6128 succursale Centre Ville, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - FRÉDÉRIC DANDURAND
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada
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Mareschal D. Computational perspectives on cognitive development. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2010; 1:696-708. [PMID: 26271654 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.67] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews the efforts to develop process models of infants' and children's cognition. Computational process models provide a tool for elucidating the causal mechanisms involved in learning and development. The history of computational modeling in developmental psychology broadly follows the same trends that have run throughout cognitive science-including rule-based models, neural network (connectionist) models, ACT-R models, ART models, decision tree models, reinforcement learning models, and hybrid models among others. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Mareschal
- Birkbeck College, University of London, Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX, UK
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Précis of neuroconstructivism: how the brain constructs cognition. Behav Brain Sci 2008; 31:321-31; discussion 331-56. [PMID: 18578929 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x0800407x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Neuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognition proposes a unifying framework for the study of cognitive development that brings together (1) constructivism (which views development as the progressive elaboration of increasingly complex structures), (2) cognitive neuroscience (which aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior), and (3) computational modeling (which proposes formal and explicit specifications of information processing). The guiding principle of our approach is context dependence, within and (in contrast to Marr [1982]) between levels of organization. We propose that three mechanisms guide the emergence of representations: competition, cooperation, and chronotopy; which themselves allow for two central processes: proactivity and progressive specialization. We suggest that the main outcome of development is partial representations, distributed across distinct functional circuits. This framework is derived by examining development at the level of single neurons, brain systems, and whole organisms. We use the terms encellment, embrainment, and embodiment to describe the higher-level contextual influences that act at each of these levels of organization. To illustrate these mechanisms in operation we provide case studies in early visual perception, infant habituation, phonological development, and object representations in infancy. Three further case studies are concerned with interactions between levels of explanation: social development, atypical development and within that, developmental dyslexia. We conclude that cognitive development arises from a dynamic, contextual change in embodied neural structures leading to partial representations across multiple brain regions and timescales, in response to proactively specified physical and social environment.
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REFERENCES. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5834.2008.00464.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Quinlan PT, van der Maas HLJ, Jansen BRJ, Booij O, Rendell M. Re-thinking stages of cognitive development: An appraisal of connectionist models of the balance scale task. Cognition 2007; 103:413-59. [PMID: 16574091 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2006.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2005] [Revised: 01/31/2006] [Accepted: 02/09/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The present paper re-appraises connectionist attempts to explain how human cognitive development appears to progress through a series of sequential stages. Models of performance on the Piagetian balance scale task are the focus of attention. Limitations of these models are discussed and replications and extensions to the work are provided via the Cascade-Correlation algorithm. An application of multi-group latent class analysis for examining performance of the networks is described and these results reveal fundamental functional characteristics of the networks. Evidence is provided that strongly suggests that the networks are unable to acquire a mastery of torque and, although they do recover certain rules of operation that humans do, they also show a propensity to acquire rules never previously seen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T Quinlan
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, UK.
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Westermann G, Sirois S, Shultz TR, Mareschal D. Modeling developmental cognitive neuroscience. Trends Cogn Sci 2006; 10:227-32. [PMID: 16603407 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2005] [Revised: 02/23/2006] [Accepted: 03/21/2006] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In the past few years connectionist models have greatly contributed to formulating theories of cognitive development. Some of these models follow the approach of developmental cognitive neuroscience in exploring interactions between brain development and cognitive development by integrating structural change into learning. We describe two classes of these models. The first focuses on experience-dependent structural elaboration within a brain region by adding or deleting units and connections during learning. The second models the gradual integration of different brain areas based on combinations of experience-dependent and maturational factors. These models provide new theories of the mechanisms of cognitive change in various domains and they offer an integrated framework to study normal and abnormal development, and normal and impaired adult processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gert Westermann
- Department of Psychology, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
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Li SC, Brehmer Y, Shing YL, Werkle-Bergner M, Lindenberger U. Neuromodulation of associative and organizational plasticity across the life span: Empirical evidence and neurocomputational modeling. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2006; 30:775-90. [PMID: 16930705 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity is the key mechanism that allows humans and other organisms to modify and adapt to contextual and experiential influences. Thus, reciprocal co-constructive interactions between behavioral and neuronal plasticity play important roles in regulating neurobehavioral development across the life span. This review focuses on behavioral and neuronal evidence of lifespan differences in associative memory plasticity and plasticity of the functional organization of cognitive and cortical processes, as well as the role of the dopaminergic system in modulating such plasticity. Special attention is given to neurocomputational models that help exploring lifespan differences in neuromodulation of neuronal and behavioral plasticity. Simulation results from these models suggest that lifespan changes in the efficacy of neuromodulatory mechanisms may shape associative memory plasticity and the functional organization of neurocognitive processes by affecting the fidelity of neuronal signal transmission, which has consequences for the distinctiveness of neurocognitive representations and the efficacy of distributed neural coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Chen Li
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
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Abstract
Neural networks are applied to a theoretical subject in developmental psychology: modeling developmental transitions. Two issues that are involved will be discussed: discontinuities and acquiring qualitatively new knowledge. We will argue that by the appearance of a bifurcation, a neural network can show discontinuities and may acquire qualitatively new knowledge. First, it is shown that biological principles of neurite outgrowth result in self-organization in a neural network, which is strongly dependent on a bifurcation in the activity dynamics. Second, the effect of a bifurcation due to morphological change is investigated in an Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) network. Exact ART networks with quantitative differences in network structure at the category level show qualitatively different dynamical regimes, which are separated by bifurcations. These qualitative differences in dynamics affect the cognitive function of Exact ART: Representations of learned categories are local or distributed.
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Schafer G, Mareschal D. Modeling Infant Speech Sound Discrimination Using Simple Associative Networks. INFANCY 2001; 2:7-28. [DOI: 10.1207/s15327078in0201_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Mareschal D, French RM, Quinn PC. A connectionist account of asymmetric category learning in early infancy. Dev Psychol 2000; 36:635-645. [PMID: 10976603 DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.36.5.635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Young infants show unexplained asymmetries in the exclusivity of categories formed on the basis of visually presented stimuli. A connectionist model is described that shows similar exclusivity asymmetries when categorizing the same stimuli presented to infants. The asymmetries can be explained in terms of an associative learning mechanism, distributed internal representations, and the statistics of the feature distributions in the stimuli. The model was used to explore the robustness of this asymmetry. The model predicts that the asymmetry will persist when a category is acquired in the presence of mixed category exemplars. An experiment with 3-4-month-olds showed that asymmetric exclusivity persisted in the presence of mixed-exemplar familiarization, thereby confirming the model's prediction.
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Buckingham D, Shultz TR. The Developmental Course of Distance, Time, and Velocity Concepts:A Generative Connectionist Model. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2000. [DOI: 10.1207/s15327647jcd0103_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Knowledge selection in category learning. PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2000. [DOI: 10.1016/s0079-7421(00)80034-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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Quinn PC, Johnson MH, Mareschal D, Rakison DH, Younger BA. Understanding Early Categorization: One Process or Two? INFANCY 2000; 1:111-122. [DOI: 10.1207/s15327078in0101_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Sirois S, Shultz TR. Neural network modeling of developmental effects in discrimination shifts. J Exp Child Psychol 1998; 71:235-74. [PMID: 9878107 DOI: 10.1006/jecp.1998.2474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents neural network simulations of developmental phenomena in discrimination shifts. The discrimination shift literature is reviewed in order to identify the empirical regularities. Leading theoretical accounts of the development of shift learning are reviewed, and the lack of a thorough account is highlighted. Recent unsuccessful neural network simulations of shift learning are also reviewed. New simulations, using the cascade-correlation algorithm, show that networks can capture the regularities of the discrimination shift literature better than existing psychological theories. Manipulation of the amount of training that networks receive, which affects depth of learning, simulates developmental phenomena. It is suggested that human developmental differences in shift learning arise from spontaneous overtraining by older participants, an interpretation consistent with the overtraining literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Sirois
- McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
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Abstract
Constructivism is the Piagetian notion that learning leads the child to develop new types of representations. For example, on the Piagetian view, a child is born without knowing that objects persist in time even when they are occluded; through a process of learning, the child comes to know that objects persist in time. The trouble with this view has always been the lack of a concrete, computational account of how a learning mechanism could lead to such a change. Recently, however, in a book entitled Rethinking Innateness. Elman et al. (Elman, J.L., Bates, E., Johnson, M.H., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Parisi, D., Plunkett, K., 1996. Rethinking Innateness: A Connectionist Perspective on Development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press) have claimed that connectionist models might provide an account of the development of new kinds of representations that would not depend on the existence of innate representations. I show that the models described in Rethinking Innateness depend on innately assumed representations and that they do not offer a genuine alternative to nativism. Moreover, I present simulation results which show that these models are incapable of deriving genuine abstract representations that are not presupposed. I then give a formal account of why the models fail to generalize in the ways that humans do. Thus, connectionism, at least in its current form, does not provide any support for constructivism. I conclude by sketching a possible alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- G F Marcus
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York 10003, USA.
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Rethinking innateness, learning, and constructivism: Connectionist perspectives on development. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 1997. [DOI: 10.1016/s0885-2014(97)90023-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Abstract
The authors discuss the origins of categorical representations in young infants, using recent evidence on the categorization of animals. This evidence suggests that mature conceptual representations for animals derive from the earliest perceptually based representations of animals formed by young infants, those based on the surface features characteristic of each species, including humans. The shift from perceptually to conceptually based representation is a gradual and continuous process marked by initial, relatively simple, perceptually based representations coming to include more and more specific values of common animal properties. Development is thus a process of enrichment by perceptual systems, including that for language, and without the need of specialized processes that alter the nature of human thought and the representation of human knowledge.
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