A Novel Computing Architecture for Cognitive Systems based on the Laminar Microcircuitry of the Neocortex - the COLAMN project

摘要

Understanding the neocortical neural architecture and circuitry in the brain that subserves our perceptual and cognitive abilities will be an important component of a "Grand Challenge" which aims at an understanding of the architecture of mind and brain. We have recently embarked on a new five-year collaborative research programme, the primary aim of which is to build a computational model of minimal complexity that captures the fundamental information processing properties of the laminar microcircuitry of the primary visual area of neocortex. Specifically the properties we aim to capture are those of self-organisation, adaptation, and plasticity, which would enable the model to: (i). develop feature selective neuronal properties and cortical preference maps in response to a combination of intrinsic, spontaneously-generated activity and complex naturalistic external stimuli; and (ii) display experience-dependent and adaptation-induced plasticity, which optimally modifies the feature selectivity properties and preference maps in response to naturalistic stimuli. The second aim of the research programme is to investigate the feasibility of designing VLSI circuitry which would be capable of realising the computational model, and thus demonstrate that the model can form the basis for a novel computational architecture with the same properties of self-organisation, adaptation, and plasticity as those displayed by the biological system. A basic premise of the research programme is that the neocortex is organised in a fairly stereotyped and modular form, and that in this form it subserves a wide range of perceptual and cognitive tasks. In principle, this will allow the novel computational architecture also to have wide application in the area of cognitive systems.