Papers by Michael A Arbib
Behavioral and brain sciences, 2024
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 18, 2023
This book was born to home the dialogue that the neuroscientist Michael A. Arbib and the philosop... more This book was born to home the dialogue that the neuroscientist Michael A. Arbib and the philosopher Tonino Griffero started at the end of 2021 about atmospheric experiences, striving to bridge the gap between cognitive science's perspective and the (neo)phenomenological one. This conversation progressed due to Pato Paez's offer to participate in the webinar "Architectural Atmospheres: Phenomenology, Cognition, and Feeling," a roundtable hosted by The Commission Project (TCP) within the Applied Neuroaesthetics initiative. The event ran online on May 20, 2022. Bob Condia moderated the panel discussion between Suchi Reddy, Michael A. Arbib, and Tonino Griffero. The RESONANCES project (Architectural Atmospheres: The Emotional Impact of Ambiances Measured through Conscious, Bodily, and Neural Responses) was responsible for developing the editing and publishing process. It received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101025132. The content of this book reflects only the authors' view. The European Research Executive Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. For further information, please visit the project website: www.resonances-project.com Disclaimer Every effort has been made to identify copyright holders and secure the necessary permission to reproduce featured images and other visual material. Please direct any inquiries regarding image rights to the editors Cover image
Annals of Mathematical Statistics, Jun 1, 1967
THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A SENSOR-BASED ROBOT PLANNER FOR THE ASSEMBLY DO- MAIN. THE REPRESENTATION A... more THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A SENSOR-BASED ROBOT PLANNER FOR THE ASSEMBLY DO- MAIN. THE REPRESENTATION AND CONTROL STRUCTURE OF THE PLANNER ARE DIS- CUSSED IN DETAIL. MOLGEN''S HIERARCHICAL PLANNING APPROACH AND LEAST COM- MITMENT STRATEGY ARE ADAPTED. REPRESENTATION FOR EACH OBJECT IS IMPLEMENT- ED AS A HIERARCHICAL GRAPH WITH FEATURES AS NODES AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FEATURES AS ARCS. FORMATION AND PROPAGATION OF THE CONSTRAINTS ARE DIS- CUSSED IN TERMS OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FEATURES.
Oxford University Press eBooks, Aug 1, 2021
The atmosphere of a building is the pervading mood it provides, and can be considered a non-Gibso... more The atmosphere of a building is the pervading mood it provides, and can be considered a non-Gibsonian affordance. Atmosphere may frame our experience of a building, but over time our perception of the atmosphere may change. This chapter explores atmosphere in relation to motivation and emotion and the role of the limbic system of the brain. Emotion builds on a set of primordial emotions, but human cognition adds subtlety and supports aesthetic emotions. Paintings by Turner and Constable are examined to take the reader beyond the phenomenology of atmosphere and to explore the idea that the artist “inverts” vision. A visual pathway judges the emerging sketch; a visuomotor pathway updates the sketch. In iterating the process, the sketch changes, but so too will the mental image. An fMRI study of architects observing images of “contemplative” building grounds a critique that suggests challenges for designing further experiments. A crucial obstacle is the distance between cog/neuroscience experiments that seek to isolate the influence of a few key variables and the whole-person experience of using and contemplating a building in all its varied complexity.
On the occasion of the lectures given at this interdisciplinary workshop, various topics of commo... more On the occasion of the lectures given at this interdisciplinary workshop, various topics of common interest were discussed by neurophysiologists, neuroanatomists, neuroethologists, systems theorists, physicists, and computational neuroscientists. The dialogs presented in this chapter are from tape recordings of three general discussion sessions. After introductory remarks the following issues were treated: (1) Promotion of the interaction between model and experiment; the advantage of modeling for neuroscience; the question of the adequate model; responsible vs. romantic modeling; problems with “detailism,” “reductionism,” and “reality”; the heuristic value of modeling; application of brain models to artificial intelligence and engineering. (2) The structure/function problem; synaptic, connectional, inferential, and intermediate levels of approach; the question of isomorphism between dendritic geometries and neuronal response properties; the notion of parametric vs. topographic representational maps; implicit, explicit, and cooperative processing; internal patterns of selforganization. (3) Modulation of sensorimotor functions; evaluation of distributed brain activities by monitoring energy metabolism; parallel distributed processing; coding problems; controversial experimental approaches and modeling; methodological and interpretational problems.
Our goal is to describe a computational framework for control of posture and movement in multijoi... more Our goal is to describe a computational framework for control of posture and movement in multijoint limb, consistent with the constraints imposed by the neural and mechanical properties of the system. We search for a coherent way of organizing a pre-motoneuron, spinal based control system which can translate relatively high-level commands from the supra-spinal centers into the language of the muscles. A derivation is provided which supports the hypothesis that the static response of a muscle and its reflex system can be viewed as a non-linear spring with an adjustable resting length. Citing experimental data, the class of models where a muscle is viewed as a non-linear spring with an adjustable stiffness can be rejected. The issue of actuator redundancy and postural stability with muscles is examined through control of an inverted pendulum and a multi-joint structure. The potential energy of the musculo-skeletal system is derived and it is suggested that the task of postural control can be viewed as sculpting an energy landscape so that there is a local minimum associated with the desired limb configuration. An algorithm for producing this landscape is proposed: We define a postural module as a synergy of muscles which can be activated to produce a class of torque functions which all have a zero value at a specified equilibrium position. Postural modules form a distributed set of stiffness controllers, and by co-activation of these modules it is possible to encode the reachable space and control the limb's stiffness. We describe a computational framework in which postural modules can account for the observed limitations in voluntary control of stiffness in man, EMG during initiation of movement, and perceptual errors which exist when subjects are asked to guess the characteristics of compliant objects. Movements of kinematically redundant limbs are considered in light of this framework in the frog wiping reflex. Finally, a learning algorithm is applied to compensate for the dynamics of a limb during rapid movements through production of a virtual equilibrium trajectory. (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Department, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182.)
Interaction Studies, Sep 17, 2018
Computational modeling of the macaque brain grounds hypotheses on the brain of LCA-m (the last co... more Computational modeling of the macaque brain grounds hypotheses on the brain of LCA-m (the last common ancestor of monkey and human). Elaborations thereof provide a brain model for LCA-c (c for chimpanzee). The Mirror System Hypothesis charts further steps via imitation and pantomime to protosign and protolanguage on the path to a "language-ready brain" in Homo sapiens, with the path to speech being indirect. The material poses new challenges for both experimentation and modeling.
IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 1971
This work bridges the fields of computer science, engineering, and neuroscience to investigate an... more This work bridges the fields of computer science, engineering, and neuroscience to investigate and mathematically describe human movement in reaching and grasping tasks. Control theory and computer simulation are used to build models which reflect kinematic data collected during motor behavioral experiments, both replicating observed behavior and predicting future experimental findings. The models are based on succinct mathematical principles, yet give rise to a variety of results. A model of control based on continuous afferent integration, tuned with a minimum of supervision, under performance criteria incorporating efficiency of movement, accuracy, and duration, reproduces findings from a variety of motor behavior studies. The transport of the hand during reach and the preshape of the fingers are coordinated via their timing, and this coordination can be explained by Maximum time synchronization and a Constant enclose time constraint. Normal and perturbed transport and preshape trajectories are based in optimality principles for movement efficiency (smoothness), with a penalty for aperture added to preshape, and depend on delays in information flow between sensorimotor programs for reach and grasp. Grasping and pointing tasks put different constraints on the final state of the hand, which affect the entire trajectory. Movement duration results from a trade-off between efficiency and quickness. The speed, accuracy, and velocity profile characteristics during accurate reach are based in combined optimization of accuracy and smoothness. A single delayed-feedback control model can explain stereotypical reaching movements which were previously thought to be bi-modal in the nature of their control (feed forward followed by feedback). Differing reaction times for target perturbations in different directions is explainable by a model incorporating limb dynamics. Finally, optimality is learnable by a self-organizing neural system. As the motor control models that allow us to draw these conclusions are developed, a novel fusion of optimization and control is introduced to the field, simultaneously explaining movement kinematics and model-based integration of afferent and efferent signals. It is shown how complex movement patterns may come about as a result of interaction of controller and plant, giving a new perspective on trajectory "planning." (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Department, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182.)
Adaptive Behavior, Jul 31, 2017
We present a novel model, SCP1, of monkey sequence learning that takes the processes of stimulus ... more We present a novel model, SCP1, of monkey sequence learning that takes the processes of stimulus recognition and motor planning seriously in addressing a robust dataset on list learning obtained through the Simultaneous Chaining Paradigm (SCP). Strikingly, SCP violates stimulus-response (S-R) mappings in that after several different lists are learned, monkeys are able to conserve this learning on a new list which is ''conserved'' in the sense that the jth element is specified as the jth element of any one of the previously learned lists. We demonstrate list acquisition as a result of multiple concurrent learning processes that together contribute to competent performance. In addition to reproducing behavioral results, we offer observations linking the work to macaque neurophysiology.
Adaptive Behavior, 1995
Anurans (frogs and toads) show quite flexible behavior when confronted with stationary objects on... more Anurans (frogs and toads) show quite flexible behavior when confronted with stationary objects on their way to prey or when escaping from a threat. Rana computatrix (Arbib, 1987), an evolving computer model of anuran visuomotor coordination, models complex behaviors such as detouring around a stationary barrier to get to prey on the basis of an understanding of anuran prey and
Routledge eBooks, Jul 19, 2022
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Papers by Michael A Arbib
to H. sapiens. Such research constrains and is constrained by analysis
of the subsequent, primarily cultural, evolution of H. sapiens which yielded cultures involving the rich use of language.