Reliable short-term memory in the trion model: toward a cortical language and grammar

Abstract

It has previously been shown that Hebb learning in a single column in the trion model of cortical organization occurs by selection. Motivated by von Neumann's solution for obtaining reliability and by models of circulating cortical activity, we introduce Hebb intercolumnar couplings to achieve dramatic enhancements in reliability in the firing of connected columns. In order for these enhancements to occur, specific temporal phase differences must exist between the same inherent spatial-temporal memory patterns in connected columns. We then generalize the criteria of large enhancements in the global firing of the entire connected columnar network to investigate the case when different inherent memory patterns are in the columns. The spatial rotations as well as the temporal phases now are crucial. Only certain combinations of inherent memory patterns meet these criteria with the symmetry properties playing a major role. The columnar order of these memory patterns not in the same symmetry family can be extremely important. This yields the first higher-level architecture of a cortical language and grammar within the trion model. The implications of this result with regard to an innate human language and grammar are discussed.

Temporal Flexibility of Systems Consolidation and the Synaptic Occupancy/Reset Theory (SORT): Cues About the Nature of the Engram

“…The difficulties of these necessarily tortuous pathways will not be elaborated here, and remains unknown. However this multilevel, stepped process resembles some classical multilayered connectionist models (Marr, 1971; Leng et al, 1994; McClelland et al, 1995; Sardesai et al, 2001), which might provide a hint to explain how a relatively small set of hippocampal cells might reach and control what is supposed to be a large number of cortical cells: studying the organization of these pathways, layer to layer, might help to understand how it works.…”