scholarly journals Contextuality in Neurobehavioural and Collective Intelligence Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 592-614
Author(s):  
William Sulis
Keyword(s):  
Unique Feature ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Classical Systems ◽  
Joint Distributions ◽  
Dynamical Characteristics ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Kolmogorov Theory ◽  
Psychological Experiments

Contextuality is often described as a unique feature of the quantum realm, which distinguishes it fundamentally from the classical realm. This is not strictly true, and stems from decades of the misapplication of Kolmogorov probability. Contextuality appears in Kolmogorov theory (observed in the inability to form joint distributions) and in non-Kolmogorov theory (observed in the violation of inequalities of correlations). Both forms of contextuality have been observed in psychological experiments, although the first form has been known for decades but mostly ignored. The complex dynamics of neural systems (neurobehavioural regulatory systems) and of collective intelligence systems (social insect colonies) are described. These systems are contextual in the first sense and possibly in the second as well. Process algebra, based on the Process Theory of Whitehead, describes systems that are generated, transient, open, interactive, and primarily information-driven, and seems ideally suited to modeling these systems. It is argued that these dynamical characteristics give rise to contextuality and non-Kolmogorov probability in spite of these being entirely classical systems.

scholarly journals Silence, Solitude, and Serotonin: Neural Mechanisms Linking Hearing Loss and Social Isolation

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 367
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Keesom ◽  
Laura M. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Auditory Cognition ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
And Function

For social animals that communicate acoustically, hearing loss and social isolation are factors that independently influence social behavior. In human subjects, hearing loss may also contribute to objective and subjective measures of social isolation. Although the behavioral relationship between hearing loss and social isolation is evident, there is little understanding of their interdependence at the level of neural systems. Separate lines of research have shown that social isolation and hearing loss independently target the serotonergic system in the rodent brain. These two factors affect both presynaptic and postsynaptic measures of serotonergic anatomy and function, highlighting the sensitivity of serotonergic pathways to both types of insult. The effects of deficits in both acoustic and social inputs are seen not only within the auditory system, but also in other brain regions, suggesting relatively extensive effects of these deficits on serotonergic regulatory systems. Serotonin plays a much-studied role in depression and anxiety, and may also influence several aspects of auditory cognition, including auditory attention and understanding speech in challenging listening conditions. These commonalities suggest that serotonergic pathways are worthy of further exploration as potential intervening mechanisms between the related conditions of hearing loss and social isolation, and the affective and cognitive dysfunctions that follow.

Analysis and Depiction of the Dynamical Characteristic of Burning Zone Temperature in Rotary Kiln of Cement Material Production

2012 ◽  
Vol 568 ◽  
pp. 208-211
Author(s):  
Wei Qing Ge ◽  
Bo Xiang ◽  
Ping Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Rotary Kiln ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Dynamical Characteristic ◽  
Cement Production ◽  
Dynamical Characteristics ◽  
Burning Zone ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Zone Temperature

The cement is one of the most important building materials, and the rotary kiln is a key equipment or process in the cement production industry. During the operating of the cement rotary kiln, the burning zone temperature (BZT) is an important production index and has a significant role on the quality of the clinker. However, the BZT has complex dynamic characteristic and is difficult to be described online using the conventional approaches. Although the BZT can be detected by using the expensive infrared pyrometer which located at the kiln head hood, it generally loses veracity due to the complex dynamics of the cement rotary kiln. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to analyze and depict the dynamical characteristics of the BZT. Industrial tests have been performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed method.

scholarly journals Self-Organized Criticality: Emergent Complex Behavior in PM10 Pollution

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Kai ◽  
Liu Chun-Qiong ◽  
Li Si-Chuan
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Distribution Functions ◽  
Fluctuation Analysis ◽  
Good Prediction ◽  
Scale Invariant ◽  
Invariant Structure ◽  
Dynamical Characteristics ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Self Organized Criticality

We analyze long-term time series of daily average PM10 concentrations in Chengdu city. Detrended fluctuation analysis of the time series shows long range correlation at one-year temporal scale. Spectral analysis of the time series indicates 1/f noise behavior. The probability distribution functions of PM10 concentrations fluctuation have a scale-invariant structure. Why do the complex structures of PM10 concentrations evolution exhibit scale-invariant? We consider that these complex dynamical characteristics can be recognized as the footprint of self-organized criticality (SOC). Based on the theory of self-organized criticality, a simplified sandpile model for PM10 pollution with a nondimensional formalism is put forward. Our model can give a good prediction of scale-invariant in PM10 evolution. A qualitative explanation of the complex dynamics observed in PM10 evolution is suggested. The work supports the proposal that PM10 evolution acts as a SOC process on calm weather. New theory suggests one way to understand the origin of complex dynamical characteristics in PM10 pollution.

scholarly journals Scale-free behavioral dynamics directly linked with scale-free cortical dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina A Jones ◽  
Jacob H Barfield ◽  
Woodrow L Shew
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Scale Free ◽  
Behavioral Dynamics ◽  
Free Behavior ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
Winner Take All

Naturally occurring body movements and collective neural activity both exhibit complex dynamics, often with scale-free, fractal spatiotemporal structure, thought to confer functional benefits to the organism. Despite their similarities, scale-free brain activity and scale-free behavior have been studied separately, without a unified explanation. Here we show that scale-free dynamics of behavior and certain subsets of cortical neurons are one-to-one related. Surprisingly, the scale-free neural subsets exhibit stochastic winner-take-all competition with other neural subsets, inconsistent with prevailing theory of scale-free neural systems. We develop a computational model which accounts for known cell-type-specific circuit structure and explains our findings. Our results establish neural underpinnings of scale-free behavior and clear behavioral relevance of scale-free neural activity, which was previously thought to represent background noise in cerebral cortex.

scholarly journals A recurrent circuit implements normalization, simulating the dynamics of V1 activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (36) ◽  
pp. 22494-22505
Author(s):  
David J. Heeger ◽  
Klavdia O. Zemlianova
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Weighted Sum

The normalization model has been applied to explain neural activity in diverse neural systems including primary visual cortex (V1). The model’s defining characteristic is that the response of each neuron is divided by a factor that includes a weighted sum of activity of a pool of neurons. Despite the success of the normalization model, there are three unresolved issues. 1) Experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that normalization in V1 operates via recurrent amplification, i.e., amplifying weak inputs more than strong inputs. It is unknown how normalization arises from recurrent amplification. 2) Experiments have demonstrated that normalization is weighted such that each weight specifies how one neuron contributes to another’s normalization pool. It is unknown how weighted normalization arises from a recurrent circuit. 3) Neural activity in V1 exhibits complex dynamics, including gamma oscillations, linked to normalization. It is unknown how these dynamics emerge from normalization. Here, a family of recurrent circuit models is reported, each of which comprises coupled neural integrators to implement normalization via recurrent amplification with arbitrary normalization weights, some of which can recapitulate key experimental observations of the dynamics of neural activity in V1.

scholarly journals Dynamic Normalization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Heeger ◽  
Klavdia O. Zemlianova
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
New Family ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Neural Computations ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractThe normalization model has been applied to explain neural activity in diverse neural systems including primary visual cortex (V1). The model’s defining characteristic is that the response of each neuron is divided by a factor that includes a weighted sum of activity of a pool of neurons. In spite of the success of the normalization model, there are 3 unresolved issues. 1) Experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that normalization in V1 operates via recurrent amplification, i.e., amplifying weak inputs more than strong inputs. It is unknown how nor-malization arises from recurrent amplification. 2) Experiments have demonstrated that normalization is weighted such that each weight specifies how one neuron contributes to another’s normalization pool. It is unknown how weighted normalization arises from a recurrent circuit. 3) Neural activity in V1 exhibits complex dynamics, including gamma oscillations, linked to normalization. It is unknown how these dynamics emerge from normalization. Here, a new family of recurrent circuit models is reported, each of which comprises coupled neural integrators to implement normalization via recurrent amplification with arbitrary normalization weights, some of which can reca-pitulate key experimental observations of the dynamics of neural activity in V1.Significance StatementA family of recurrent circuit models is proposed to explain the dynamics of neural activity in primary visual cortex (V1). Each of the models in this family exhibits steady state output responses that are already known to fit a wide range of experimental data from diverse neural systems. These models can recapitulate the complex dynamics of V1 activity, including oscillations (so-called gamma oscillations, ∼30-80 Hz). This theoretical framework may also be used to explain key aspects of working memory and motor control. Consequently, the same circuit architecture is applicable to a variety of neural systems, and V1 can be used as a model system for understanding the neural computations in many brain areas.

Silica Incorporation in the Cell Wall of the Singing Cell of Urtica dioica

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 584-585
Author(s):  
A. E. Sowers ◽  
E. L. Thurston
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Unique Feature ◽  
Urtica Dioica ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Pain Response ◽  
Apical Portion ◽  
Ultrastructural Investigation ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
Bulbous Tip

Plant stinging emergences exhibit functional similarities in that they all elicit a pain response upon contact. A stinging emergence consists of an elongated stinging cell and a multicellular pedestal (Fig. 1). A recent ultrastructural investigation of these structures has revealed the ontogeny and morphology of the stinging cells differs in representative genera in the four plant families which possess such structures. A unique feature of the stinging cell of Urtica dioica is the presence of a siliceous cell wall in the apical portion of the cell. This rigid region of the cell wall is responsible for producing the needle-like apparatus which penetrates the skin. The stinging cell differentiates the apical bulbous tip early in development and the cell continues growth by intercalary addition of non-silicified wall material until maturity.The uppermost region of the stinging cell wall is entirely composed of silica (Fig. 2, 3) and upon etching with a 3% solution of HF (5 seconds), the silica is partially removed revealing the wall consisting of individualized silica bodies (Fig. 4, 5).

Do Writing Directions Influence How People Map Space onto Time?

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Wenxing Yang ◽  
Ying Sun
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representations ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Horizontal Axis ◽  
Causal Role ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Temporal Cognition ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Psychological Experiments ◽  
Vertical Up

Abstract. The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers’ mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.

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