Independent Researcher, New York, NY, United States.
Front Neural Circuits. 2020 Jul 28;14:40. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2020.00040. eCollection 2020.
The neocortex performs a wide range of functions, including working memory, sensory perception, and motor planning. Despite this diversity in function, evidence suggests that the neocortex is made up of repeating subunits ("macrocolumns"), each of which is largely identical in circuitry. As such, the specific computations performed by these macrocolumns are of great interest to neuroscientists and AI researchers. Leading theories of this microcircuit include models of predictive coding, hierarchical temporal memory (HTM), and Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART). However, these models have not yet explained: (1) how microcircuits learn sequences input with delay (i.e., working memory); (2) how networks of columns coordinate processing on precise timescales; or (3) how top-down attention modulates sensory processing. I provide a theory of the neocortical microcircuit that extends prior models in all three ways. Additionally, this theory provides a novel working memory circuit that extends prior models to support simultaneous multi-item storage without disrupting ongoing sensory processing. I then use this theory to explain the functional origin of a diverse set of experimental findings, such as cortical oscillations.
新皮层执行广泛的功能，包括工作记忆、感觉感知和运动规划。尽管功能多样化，但有证据表明，新皮层由重复的亚单位（“大柱”）组成，每个亚单位在电路上基本相同。因此，这些大柱执行的特定计算引起了神经科学家和人工智能研究人员的极大兴趣。该微电路的主要理论包括预测编码模型、层次时间记忆 (HTM) 和自适应谐振理论 (ART)。然而，这些模型尚未解释：(1) 微电路如何学习带有延迟的输入序列（即工作记忆）；(2) 柱网络如何在精确的时间尺度上协调处理；或 (3) 自上而下的注意力如何调节感官处理。我提供了一种扩展先前所有三种方式的新皮层微电路理论。此外，该理论提供了一种新的工作记忆电路，该电路扩展了先前的模型，以支持同时进行多项目存储，而不会中断正在进行的感官处理。然后，我使用该理论来解释一系列不同的实验结果的功能起源，例如皮质振荡。
