Spontaneous generation of selectable variation in the brain

摘要: Selection models of behavior presuppose "selectable variation", diversity in the brain that is stable over time. Diversity can arise spontaneously through mutual interactions cell assemblies, which are postulated to align or disalign their neighbors into processing modes conforming opposite from own. These processes similar magnetization and crystallization. If aligning disaligning influences distributed at random, a state resembling spin glass arise, where highly varied space but disalignment occurs regularly points two-dimensional lattice, elsewhere aligning, pattern emerges with properties remarkably visual orientation columns. patterns maintained dynamically, emerge statistically without detailed genetic specification.