title: Getting ahead: forward models and their place in cognitive architecture.
abstract: The use of forward models (mechanisms that predict the future state of a system) is well established in cognitive and computational neuroscience. We compare and contrast two recent, but interestingly divergent, accounts of the place of forward models in the human cognitive architecture. On the Auxiliary Forward Model (AFM) account, forward models are special-purpose prediction mechanisms implemented by additional circuitry distinct from core mechanisms of perception and action. On the Integral Forward Model (IFM) account, forward models lie at the heart of all forms of perception and action. We compare these neighbouring but importantly different visions and consider their implications for the cognitive sciences. We end by asking what kinds of empirical research might offer evidence favouring one or the other of these approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH9 9JZ, UK. Electronic address: martin.pickering@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pickering
authors.affiliation: School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD, UK. Electronic address: andy.clark@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
keywords: active inference; forward model; joint action; language; prediction; predictive coding; simulation