title: Theory of Connectivity: Nature and Nurture of Cell Assemblies and Cognitive Computation.
abstract: Richard Semon and Donald Hebb are among the firsts to put forth the notion of cell assembly-a group of coherently or sequentially-activated neurons-to represent percept, memory, or concept. Despite the rekindled interest in this century-old idea, the concept of cell assembly still remains ill-defined and its operational principle is poorly understood. What is the size of a cell assembly? How should a cell assembly be organized? What is the computational logic underlying Hebbian cell assemblies? How might Nature vs. Nurture interact at the level of a cell assembly? In contrast to the widely assumed randomness within the mature but naïve cell assembly, the Theory of Connectivity postulates that the brain consists of the developmentally pre-programmed cell assemblies known as the functional connectivity motif (FCM). Principal cells within such FCM is organized by the power-of-two-based mathematical principle that guides the construction of specific-to-general combinatorial connectivity patterns in neuronal circuits, giving rise to a full range of specific features, various relational patterns, and generalized knowledge. This pre-configured canonical computation is predicted to be evolutionarily conserved across many circuits, ranging from these encoding memory engrams and imagination to decision-making and motor control. Although the power-of-two-based wiring and computational logic places a mathematical boundary on an individual's cognitive capacity, the fullest intellectual potential can be brought about by optimized nature and nurture. This theory may also open up a new avenue to examining how genetic mutations and various drugs might impair or improve the computational logic of brain circuits.
authors.affiliation: Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute and Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta UniversityAugusta, GA, USA; The Brain Decoding Center, Banna Biomedical Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Science and TechnologyYunnan, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute and Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Augusta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute and Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Augusta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Joe Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Tsien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: cell assembly; decision-making; generalization; imagination; memory engram; motor control; nature vs. nurture; theory of connectivity