Abstract concept learning in a simple neural network inspired by the insect brain

The capacity to learn abstract concepts such as 'sameness' and 'difference' is considered a higher-order cognitive function, typically thought to be dependent on top-down neocortical processing. It is therefore surprising that honey bees apparantly have this capacity. Here we rep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS computational biology 2018-09, Vol.14 (9), p.e1006435-e1006435
Main Authors: Cope, Alex J, Vasilaki, Eleni, Minors, Dorian, Sabo, Chelsea, Marshall, James A R, Barron, Andrew B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstraction (Psychology)
Animals
Apis mellifera
Associative learning
Bees
Bees - physiology
Behavior, Animal
Biology and Life Sciences
Brain
Brain - physiology
Brain research
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Computer and Information Sciences
Computer science
Computer Simulation
Concept learning
Executive function
Insects
Learning
Machine Learning
Memory
Models, Neurological
Mushroom Bodies - physiology
Mushrooms
Neocortex
Neural circuitry
Neural networks
Neural Networks, Computer
Neurosciences
Odorants
Physiological aspects
Probability
Robotics
Social Sciences
Software
Task complexity
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Summary:The capacity to learn abstract concepts such as 'sameness' and 'difference' is considered a higher-order cognitive function, typically thought to be dependent on top-down neocortical processing. It is therefore surprising that honey bees apparantly have this capacity. Here we report a model of the structures of the honey bee brain that can learn sameness and difference, as well as a range of complex and simple associative learning tasks. Our model is constrained by the known connections and properties of the mushroom body, including the protocerebral tract, and provides a good fit to the learning rates and performances of real bees in all tasks, including learning sameness and difference. The model proposes a novel mechanism for learning the abstract concepts of 'sameness' and 'difference' that is compatible with the insect brain, and is not dependent on top-down or executive control processing.
ISSN:1553-7358
1553-734X
1553-7358
DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006435