Optimal-Wiring Models of Neuroanatomy

Cherniak, Christopher; Mokhtarzada, Zekeria; Nodelman, Uri

doi:10.1385/1-59259-275-9:71

Cited by 9 publications

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“…This optimal layout can be attained by a simple "mesh of springs" force-directed placement procedure, where each of the one thousand connections is treated as a micro-spring acting upon its ganglia [5]. The worm layout is among the most complex biological structures known to be derivable in this way "for free," directly from simple physical processes without intervention by DNA mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Information processing limits on generating neuroanatomy: global optimization of rat olfactory cortex and amygdala

Cherniak

Rodriguez‐Esteban

2009

J Biol Phys

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A pattern of widespread connection optimization in the nervous system has become evident: deployment of some neural interconnections attains optimality, sometimes without detectable limits. New results for optimization of layout of connected areas of rat olfactory cortex and of rat amygdala are reported here. One larger question concerns mechanisms-how such minimization is attained. A next question is why a nervous system would optimize rather than just moderately satisfice. A morphogenic proposal that relates these questions is that the means of organizing neural wiring happens also to yield optimization. Some neuroanatomy is generated via "saving wire," and this optimizing is via simple physical processes rather than DNA-mediated mechanisms. Such "non-genomic nativism" is thereby a path around fundamental limitations on generating brains, some of the most complex structures in the known universe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some evidence has suggested that the optimal biological structure here arises "for free, directly from the physics." That is, simple physical processes, such as vector-mechanical ("tug of war") energy-minimization, yield the connection minimization [5]. In this way, physics links to neurobiology-in particular, neuroanatomy-via optimizing.…”

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confidence: 99%

Information processing limits on generating neuroanatomy: global optimization of rat olfactory cortex and amygdala

Cherniak

Rodriguez‐Esteban

2009

J Biol Phys

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“…As mentioned above, the structure‐building operation Merge follows the principle of minimal computation, for it is the simplest possible computational operation for the task at hand. There are independent reasons to believe that cognitive processes satisfy the principle of minimal computation (Cherniak, 1994; Cherniak, Mokhtarzada & Nodelman, 2002; Chomsky, 2016), and since Merge satisfies this principle and is able to account for the underlying mechanisms of language, we have strong grounds for its existence as a core computational principle of human language. We saw above that islands cannot be due to constraints on structure generation alone, for they are perfectly thinkable thoughts, and if that is the case then that gives weight to the interface account of islands.…”

Section: The Asymmetry Of the Interfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why should syntactic islands exist?

Asoulin

2020

Mind & Language

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Sentences that are ungrammatical and yet intelligible are instances of what I call perfectly thinkable thoughts. I argue that the existence of perfectly thinkable thoughts is revealing in regard to the question of why syntactic islands should exist. If language is an instrument of thought as understood in the biolinguistics tradition, then a uniquely human subset of thoughts is generated in narrow syntax, which suggests that island constraints cannot be rooted in narrow syntax alone and thus must reflect interface conditions imposed on the output of the computational system and its mapping to external systems.

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“…In order to carry out the wide range of tasks it is capable of, the brain must deal with these constraints in a finite time, and it does so in a way that is not merely "good enough" or just satisfying (Simon 1956). There are innumerable local maxima that would do for the task at hand, but the brain appears to be structured in an optimal way that is closer or indeed at the global maximum, asymptotically close to being the best of all possible brains given the constraints at hand and the initial conditions (Cherniak et al 2002).…”

Section: The Design-features Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language as an instrument of thought

Asoulin

2016

Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics

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I show that there are good arguments and evidence to boot that support the language as an instrument of thought hypothesis. The underlying mechanisms of language, comprising of expressions structured hierarchically and recursively, provide a perspective (in the form of a conceptual structure) on the world, for it is only via language that certain perspectives are available to us and to our thought processes. These mechanisms provide us with a uniquely human way of thinking and talking about the world that is different to the sort of thinking we share with other animals. If the primary function of language were communication then one would expect that the underlying mechanisms of language will be structured in a way that favours successful communication. I show that not only is this not the case, but that the underlying mechanisms of language are in fact structured in a way to maximise computational efficiency, even if it means causing communicative problems. Moreover, I discuss evidence from comparative, neuropathological, developmental, and neuroscientific evidence that supports the claim that language is an instrument of thought.

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Optimal-Wiring Models of Neuroanatomy

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Information processing limits on generating neuroanatomy: global optimization of rat olfactory cortex and amygdala

Information processing limits on generating neuroanatomy: global optimization of rat olfactory cortex and amygdala

Why should syntactic islands exist?

Language as an instrument of thought

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