title: Information processing algorithms in the brain.
abstract: If the brain is a machine that processes information, then its cognitive activity can be interpreted as a set of information processing states linking stimulus to response (i.e. as a mechanism or an algorithm). The cornerstone of this research agenda is the existence of a method to translate the measurable states of brain activity into the information processing states of a cognitive theory. Here, we contend that reverse correlation methods can provide this translation and we frame the transitions between information processing states in the context of automata theory. We illustrate, using examples from visual cognition, how this novel framework can be applied to understand the information processing algorithms of the brain in cognitive neuroscience.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK. philippe@psy.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: Philippe G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Schyns
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gosselin
authors.forename: Marie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological