Dynamic Field Theory Summer School 2010

该提案请求美国国家科学基金会提供资金，以支持将于2010年6月7日至11日在爱荷华大学举办的动态场理论及其在认知科学中的应用暑期班。动态场理论为思考具身认知动力学提供了一个正式的框架。暑期班的组织是为了让学生获得在他们自己的专业领域内使用特定的动态神经场模型的实践经验。暑期班首先介绍动力系统理论的核心概念，以及动态场理论的数学和神经生理学基础。接下来，学生将学习神经领域的激活动力学如何为认知和发展科学中的两个核心挑战提供关键联系：多个时间尺度上的过程整合和行为灵活性的起源。最后一堂课将侧重于该理论在不同领域的应用，从运动控制和机器人领域的低级例子到工作记忆和单词学习等高级领域。讲座和课程材料可在暑期学校网站上免费获取：www.uiowa.edu/~icdls/dft-School/。此外，学生们还参加了一个推广项目，该项目为当地社区的5-12岁儿童带来了一项名为“空中机器人”的活动。该活动是一种有趣的方式，可以说明动力学、体现认知和机器人的概念。

AbstractThis proposal requests NSF funding to support a summer school on Dynamic Field Theory and its applications to cognitive science, to be held in June 7-11, 2010 at the University of Iowa. Dynamic Field Theory provides a formal framework for thinking about embodied cognitive dynamics. The Summer School is organized so that students receive hands-on experience working with specific dynamic neural field models within their own area of expertise. The Summer School begins with an introduction to the central concepts of dynamical systems theory, and the mathematical and neurophysiological bases of dynamic field theory. Next, students will learn how activation dynamics in neural fields provide critical links to two central challenges in cognitive and developmental science: the integration of processes over multiple time scales and the origin of behavioral flexibility. The final lectures will focus on applications of the theory in different domains, from lower-level examples in the domains of motor control and robotics to higher-level domains including working memory and word learning. Lectures and course materials are freely available at the Summer School website: www.uiowa.edu/~icdls/dft-school/. In addition, students participate in an outreach program which brings an activity called "Overhead 'Bots" to 5-12 year old children from the local community. The activity is a fun way to illustrate the concepts of dynamics, embodied cognition, and robotics.