Neural dynamics of idea generation and the effects of priming.
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.
Iyer
Laxmi R
LR
Department of Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, United States.
Doboli
Simona
S
Minai
Ali A
AA
Brown
Vincent R
VR
Levine
Daniel S
DS
Paulus
Paul B
PB
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