title: Neural dynamics of idea generation and the effects of priming.
abstract: Idea generation is a fundamental attribute of the human mind, but the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. In this paper, we present a dynamic connectionist model for the generation of ideas within a brainstorming context. The key hypothesis underlying the model is that ideas emerge naturally from itinerant attractor dynamics in a multi-level, modular semantic space, and the potential surface underlying this dynamics is itself shaped dynamically by task context, ongoing evaluative feedback, inhibitory modulation, and short-term synaptic modification. While abstract, the model attempts to capture the interplay between semantic representations, working memory, attentional selection, reinforcement signals, and modulation. We show that, once trained on a set of contexts and ideas, the system can rapidly recall stored ideas in familiar contexts, and can generate novel ideas by efficient, multi-level dynamical search in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts. We also use a simplified continuous-time instantiation of the model to explore the effect of priming on idea generation. In particular, we consider how priming low-accessible categories in a connectionist semantic network can lead to the generation of novel ideas. The mapping of the model onto various regions and modulatory processes in the brain is also discussed briefly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, United States.
authors.forename: Laxmi R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Iyer
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doboli
authors.forename: Ali A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Minai
authors.forename: Vincent R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Paulus
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001288:Attention; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012201:Reward; D012660:Semantics; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D013997:Time Factors