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Frontal latching networks: a possible neural basis for infinite recursion.

Alessandro Treves¹

¹SISSA, Trieste, Italy.

Cognitive Neuropsychology

|November 2, 2010

Summary

Higher cognitive functions, like language, may stem from the brain's semantic networks. Increased neural connectivity, particularly in the frontal cortex, could enable the infinite recursion necessary for complex thought.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Understanding higher cognitive functions, including language, necessitates analyzing neural network operations rather than just localization.
A recent theory proposes infinite recursion as a fundamental mechanism for higher cognitive functions, posing a challenge for network theorists.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a network dynamics model for infinite recursion, a key component of higher cognitive functions.
To link the capacity for infinite recursion to the adaptive dynamics of large semantic associative networks.

Main Methods:

Theoretical proposal linking network connectivity to recursive dynamics.
Consideration of the role of synaptic plasticity, specifically spine density in pyramidal cells, as a biological correlate.

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Main Results:

A sufficiently extensive semantic network with structured transition probabilities between global states can exhibit dynamics supporting infinite recursion.
Increased neural connectivity, evidenced by higher spine numbers in pyramidal cell dendrites (especially in human frontal cortex), is proposed as the crucial development enabling non-random network dynamics.

Conclusions:

The capacity for infinite recursion, essential for higher cognitive functions, may arise from the natural dynamics of highly connected semantic networks.
An increase in synaptic connectivity, such as observed in primate and human frontal cortex, could be the biological substrate for the network dynamics underlying complex cognition.