AN INTRANET-LIKE MODULARIZED BRAIN MODEL
We argue about a prototype, the brain, having as a brain model an Intranet-like multicompartmental structure. A private INTRAnet is analogous to the public INTERnet, but has linked compartments functioning within closed spatial limits, say a school.The selected electronic devices may be routers, hubs and file servers, and the intranet software used is adapted to the task. They connect compartments such as a Library Computer Laboratory (LCL) and classrooms, now blackboxes with various expertises. The school with stupid students is a model of a human brain engaged in higher intellectual tasks, such as theorem creation and demonstration. Many stupid students (like many brain homunculi) add up to the equivalent of a normal intelligent person. As an information processor, the brain integrates subsystems: protominds (1), that is, compartments of brain machinery, brain operating systems (2), memories and transducers, and allows for the emergence of single aimed parallel tasks.
The basics of the adopted structure refer to Minsky´s (1) A- and B-brains- and to Block- Schacter´s (3,4) A- and P-consciousness.
-1. The "mindless" A-brain (left Hub(5)) depends on the presence of an external perceptual world, perceives it, has external alarm- detectors and internal Neuroethological Decision Cycles, NDC(1,6,7,8), but cannot self detect its own presence. It has consciousness but is not conscious of being conscious.
- 2. The B-brain (right Hub(5)) is the "mind". Its duty is centered on the A-brain endeavours, and manages its information traffic, excluding the external world. By definition, the inner mental world is B-brain's task. Human beings show not full, but partial conscioussnes of having consciousness, because the parallel workings of the protominds are tractable only in part by B. The links are:
- 1. A-(Access) Consciousness has many attributes but here it is mostly our brain Operating System with a basic Access- task. It works through Alarm Operators, which nest Gratifying Operators. They trigger with external and internal alarming conditions. The alarm function is fundamental to start and maintain the NDC
- 2. P-(Phenomenal) Consciousness constructs mental images or mental similitudes out of subsymbolic information coming from the perceptions. It has to do with inner experiences, like the one a little girl has as she climbs to a big swing and begins to propel herself, understanding their parents loud approval. Or when touching an open flame with the finger. P-consciousness emerges mostly as the access of a large number of body-controls, managing the alarm set-points of an overall alarm-proved homeostatic state (9). We have mentioned left and right hubs, according to Weinstein's graphic of a File Server Model for a school-wide Intranet (5). The listed electronic subsystems are
1). An "Internet Service Provider": it means here the perceptual world (10).
2). A "Router": here one is reminded of the main site for the Alarm Operators, aware for filtered objects, facts and properties, that is, exhibiting o-,f-, and p-awareness (11), sensible as well to different brain moods or electroencephalic (EEG) waves. So there are many inner protocols, not just one as in standard Intranets. The traffic allows for inputs with sensory transductors and outputs with neuron-muscle complementation. The router satisfies a part of the Intranet's Operating System, and the filters for the Alarm Operators are here considered as belonging to our A-conscious brain Operating System.
3). A first "Hub" with a default connection to the router, managing the links among the active classrooms: the rooms are the A-brain protominds involved in NDC (7,8,12). One set of compartments, associated with every one of the aspects of a "higher" problem NDC (theorem creation and demonstration) presented by the "alarm" operators, could be:
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3.1) a first large room (or three smaller ones) with "preparation" experts (7),
with Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) abilities, referring to old experiences with
already-prepared answers to problems, including in the same room particular
expertises such as
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3.1.1) negative-mood experiences helping to avoid future disasters, inhibitory
components of "preparation" or case-based reasoning (CBR-) functions;
3.1.2) positive-mood case-based memories assisting in the construction of a positive solution to the problem, excitatory components (CBR+); and
3.1.3) an overall abstract version without emotional influence, that is, strictly rational and logic (CBRo); a cold and emotion-lacking access and processing to all kinds of cases related to the new problem;
3.2) a second room (protomind) dedicated to deliberative, combinatorial and creative abilities (7), "deliberation" or memory-free combinatory cognition functions, where memory is not needed; and
3.3) a third room for emotional intelligence expertise (13), used in NDC.
4). A second "Hub": here one may recognize the B-brain component, both A- and P-conscious. It nests the remaining part of the A-conscious B-brain Operating System. It has a default connection to the first Hub and four links
4.1) To a "File Server" connecting related files: in the brain it is the seat for B-brain abilities and includes
4.1.1) the core of the Access-Consciousness brain Operating System, whose tasks are to provide accesses between the Classrooms and the File Server, so as to help with the LCL tasks.
4.1.2) the long-term memories and access to the LCL coded registry.
4.2) To a first division of the LCL: it nests B-brain's P-consciousness. The LCL concentrates -loosely speaking- all the "homeostatic-sensor controls" (9) of the active rooms feelings. From this concentration the LCL should be in the condition to transduce the conscious feelings and experiences which - so to say - fill the net with an overall experience of alertness and progressive task-accomplishment or failure.
4.3) To a second division of same: it nests B-brain-Preconscious (14), the waiting room previous to P-consciousness, for half-way feelings and experiences.
4.4) To the last division: it saves the Unconscious (14), where B-brain control functions only scratch the surface of hidden parallel NDC
The thermodynamics of this blackbox comparmental Intranet is based on Kirchhoff electronic equilibria applied to linked nodes. This differs considerably from brain biothermodynamic non-linear non-equilibrium phase transition processes.
Most brain self-organised evolution may be thermodynamically downhill (15). In the evolved brain, the main darwinian selector is the potentiality of the species to minimize the high priority energy demands (von Baer-Mayr(15) law) maintaining accessed mental capabilities. The evolving arrow seems to aim towards such complex compartmental (16) evolutionary phase transitions so as to increase its functional and task ranges, with relatively low energy requisites.
When solving problems, the transductions between subsymbolic, symbolic and again subsymbolic signals, demand energy (7) and need a scaffold (9) to move uphill.
Applying Hopfield's equations (17), the protominds operating system involved in solving the problem on hand, after the mentioned initial uphill transition, accounts for a final energetic decay, with a decrease of large number of initial degrees of freedom.
Neurons are slow and the alarm signals are much faster. This fact (1) appears to be persistently selecting (14). Natural selection gives priority to economic solutions: brain bypasses with more velocity but less precision (13).
A generalized Le Chatelier principle, extended to non-linear situations, replacing equilibria by phase transitions, appears as a theoretical reductionist help with multiple applications (17).
Now we mention a jazz-band model for the tentative and temporary leadership of one of the multiple protominds, during the NDC, as well as a brain biothermodynamical model of the voting process of said protominds (17).
Within a given NDC one finds various energetic levels involved (7,17).
All these generally simple facts, when explained one after the other, produce notwithstanding a chaotic EEG. From this chaos the authors see the emergence of a reductionist law, whose first draft may be stated as follows:
Biothermodynamics, ruled by the von Baer-Mayr reduction, gives a quite simple vision of the workings of mind as a control tool and alarm-situations manager. The emotional intelligence makes clear where the NDC set-points are, because the magnitude of actual feelings measures the unbalance between the set-points and the controlled behaviors under adjustment by the NDC. P-consciousness is the result of all the controls trying to yield homeostasis, surveying the presence of alarms, as a kind of virtual supercontrol (17).
The model may enlighten some up-to-date topics, like what happens with the superposition of strong attention and alpha-EEG-wave moods.
29.jun.1999
Pulsar tecla de vuelta
Glosario de Carlos von der Becke.