SISSA, Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, Trieste, Italy.
Exp Brain Res. 2010 Jun;203(2):241-8. doi: 10.1007/s00221-010-2243-1. Epub 2010 May 1.
A widely held theory dating back to Donald Hebb posits neuronal attractor dynamics to underlie the retrieval of objects from long-term memory and the categorization of ambiguous stimuli, but empirical support for this notion had so far pointed more at self-sustained activity than at attractor dynamics per se. Complex perceptual effects modulating memory retrieval, including priming effects, are compatible with both attractor dynamics and alternative hypotheses, which seem to result in opposite predictions at the neuronal level. Recent recordings in monkeys indicate that attractor dynamics may indeed be observed, as it unfolds in time over a few hundred milliseconds, if neurons are probed in infero-temporal cortex during the categorization of ambiguous visual stimuli. Extending the analysis of such phenomena promises to take us beyond the perceptual periphery, where neuronal responses are still largely determined by sensory stimuli. Understanding the nature of transitions between attractor states opens the door to higher-level thought processes.
一种广为接受的理论可以追溯到唐纳德·赫布（Donald Hebb），该理论认为神经元吸引子动力学是从长期记忆中检索物体和对模棱两可的刺激进行分类的基础，但到目前为止，这一概念的实证支持更多地指向自我维持的活动，而不是吸引子动力学本身。调节记忆检索的复杂感知效应，包括启动效应，与吸引子动力学和替代假设都兼容，这些假设在神经元水平似乎产生了相反的预测。最近在猴子身上的记录表明，如果在颞下皮质中对模棱两可的视觉刺激进行分类时探测神经元，吸引子动力学可能确实会随着时间的推移在几百毫秒内展开。扩展对这种现象的分析有望使我们超越感知范围，在感知范围内，神经元反应在很大程度上仍然由感觉刺激决定。了解吸引子状态之间的转变性质为更高层次的思维过程打开了大门。
