The Grossberg Code: Universal Neural Network Signatures of Perceptual Experience

Abstract

Two universal functional principles of Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory decipher the brain code of all biological learning and adaptive intelligence. Low-level representations of multisensory stimuli in their immediate environmental context are formed on the basis of bottom-up activation and under the control of top-down matching rules that integrate high-level, long-term traces of contextual configuration. These universal coding principles lead to the establishment of lasting brain signatures of perceptual experience in all living species, from aplysiae to primates. They are re-visited in this concept paper on the basis of examples drawn from the original code and from some of the most recent related empirical findings on contextual modulation in the brain, highlighting the potential of Grossberg’s pioneering insights and groundbreaking theoretical work for intelligent solutions in the domain of developmental and cognitive robotics.

The Psychometric Function for Focusing Attention on Pitch

“…The term 'focusing attention' describes both the listener's objective task and his or her phenomenal awareness of the task, but not, in general, what focusing does. A general scheme for how attention can prime a signal by suppressing unwanted information is provided by Grossberg's ART theory [7] (p. 18); see Dresp-Langley [8]. ART requires the signal to be learnt, as resonance and top-down matching with memory is required, and in the psycho-acoustic literature cited here, this is the case: only experienced listeners who have memorized the possible tones are used.…”