The Biological Basis of Incremental Learning

该项目由学习和智能系统(LIS)倡议提供资金。它关注的是本质上是渐进的学习，导致技能随着时间的推移而提高。这种学习对知觉辨别、刺激联想和运动技能的发展负责，在人类和动物中都可以看到。本研究的目标是一种增量学习的系统级神经理论。该项目将计算机模拟与行为正常的大鼠和猴子大脑的神经生理记录、人类功能磁共振成像以及机器人实施相结合。众所周知，哺乳动物大脑的许多部分对增量学习有贡献。虽然皮质可能起着中心作用，但其他已知对大脑有重要贡献的区域包括基底节、海马体、杏仁核和小脑。重要的是要了解这些不同领域的作用以及它们在学习过程中的相互作用。将进行的实验工作包括在学习过程中记录大鼠和猴子大脑的不同区域，并对执行类似任务的人的大脑进行成像。神经功能模型将在猴子实验的基础上开发，并将在移动机器人上实现。这些实现的模型将允许对机器人进行训练，并将发生的学习与在人类和动物中观察到的学习进行比较。增量学习理论的发展将更好地理解这一过程是如何发生的，并可能导致改进人类和机器技能发展的方法。

This project is being funded through the Learning and Intelligent Systems (LIS) initiative. It is concerned with learning that is incremental in nature, resulting in skills that improve over time. Such learning is responsible for the development of perceptual discriminations, stimulus associations, and motor skills, and is seen in both humans and animals. The goal of the research is a systems-level neural theory of incremental learning. The project combines computer simulations with neurophysiological recording from the brains of behaving rats and monkeys, functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans, and robotic implementation. It is known that many parts of the mammalian brain contribute to incremental learning. Although the cortex may play a central role, other brain areas known to make vital contributions include the basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. It is important to understand the roles of these various areas and their interactions with each other during learning. Experimental work to be performed includes recording from various areas of the brains of rats and monkeys during learning and imaging the brains of humans performing analogous tasks. Models of neural function will be developed based on the monkey experiments and will be implemented on a mobile robot. These implemented models will allow the training of the robot, and a comparison of the learning that takes place with that observed in humans and animals. The development of theories of incremental learning will provide a better understanding of how the process occurs and may result in improved approaches to the development of skills in both humans and machines.