Adaptive Neural Networks Accounted for by Five Instances of “Respondent-Based” Conditioning

Neural Networks may be made much faster and more efficient by reducing the amount of memory and computation used. In this paper, a new type of neural network called an Adaptive Neural Network is introduced. The proposed neural network is comprised of five unique pairings of events. Each pairing is a module and the modules are connected within a single neural network. The pairings are a simulation of respondent conditioning. The simulations do not necessarily represent conditioning in actual organisms. In the theory presented here, the pairings in respondent conditioning become aggregated together to form a basis for operant conditioning. The specific pairings are as follows. The first pairing is between the reinforcer and the neural stimulus that elicits the behavior. This pairing strengthens and makes salient that eliciting neural stimulus. The second pairing is that of the now salient neural stimulus with the external environmental stimulus that precedes the operant behavior. The third is the pairing of the environmental stimulus event with the reinforcing stimulus. The fourth is the pairing of the stimulus elicited by the drive with the reinforcement event, changing the strength of the reinforcer. The fifth pairing is that after repeated exposure the external environmental stimulus is paired with the drive stimulus. This drive stimulus is generated by an intensifying drive. Within each module, a “0” means no occurrence of a pairing A of Stimuli A and a “1” means an occurrence of a pairing A of Stimuli A. Similarly, a “0” means no occurrence of a pairing Band a “1” means an occurrence of a pairing B, and so on for all 5 pairings. To obtain an output one multiplies the values of pairings through E. In one trial or instance, all 5 pairings will occur. The results of the multiplications are then accumulated and divided by the number of instances. The use of these simple respondent pairings as a basis for neural networks reduces errors. Examples of problems that may be addressable by such networks are included.

Chromosomal Heterozygosity and Fertility in House Mice (Mus musculus domesticus) From Northern Italy

Following the discovery of over 40 Robertsonian (Rb) races of Mus musculus domesticus in Europe and North Africa, the house mouse has been studied extensively as an ideal model to determine the chromosomal changes that may cause or accompany speciation. Current models of chromosomal speciation are based on the assumption that heterozygous individuals have a particularly low fertility, although recent studies indicate otherwise. Despite their importance, fertility estimates for the house mouse are incomplete because traditional measurements, such as anaphase I nondisjunction and germ cell death, are rarely estimated in conjunction with litter size. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we have taken advantage of the house mouse hybrid zone in Upper Valtellina (Lombardy, Italy) in which five Rb races interbreed. We present data on the fertility of naturally occurring (“wild-caught”) hybrids and of offspring from laboratory crosses of wild-caught mice (“laboratory-reared”), using various measurements. Wild-caught mice heterozygous for one fusion were more infertile than predicted from past studies, possibly due to genic hybridity; laboratory-reared heterozygotes carrying seven or eight trivalents at meiosis I and heterozygotes carrying one pentavalent also had low fertilities. These low fertilities are especially significant given the probable occurrence of a reinforcement event in Upper Valtellina.