| |
Abstract:
Filial imprinting in domestic chicks is of interest in
psychology, biology, and computational modeling because it
exemplifies simple, rapid, innately programmed learning which is
biased toward learning about some objects. Horn, et al. have
recently discovered a naive visual preference for heads and necks
which develops over the course of the first three days of life.
These interactions are reminiscent of those in human language
acquisition. The neurological basis of this predisposition is
almost entirely unknown; that of imprinting-related learning is
fairly clear. This project is the first model of the predisposition
consistent with what is known about learning in imprinting. The
model develops the predisposition appropriately, learns to
"approach" a training object, and replicates one interaction
between the two processes. Future work will replicate more
interactions between imprinting and the predisposition in chicks,
and analyze why the system works.
|
