An instruction language for self-construction in the context of neural networks

作者：Zubler Frederic^*; Hauri Andreas; Pfister Sabina; Whatley Adrian M; Cook Matthew; Douglas Rodney

来源：Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2011, 5: 57.

DOI：10.3389/fncom.2011.00057

• self-construction
• simulation
• neural growth
• development
• cortex
• self-organization

Biological systems are based on an entirely different concept of construction that human artifacts. They construct themselves by a process of self-organization that is a systematic spatio-temporal generation of, and interaction between, various specialized cell types. We propose a framework for designing gene-like codes for guiding the self-construction of neural networks. The description of neural development is formalized by defining a set of primitive actions taken locally by neural precursors during corticogenesis. These primitives can be combined into networks of instructions similar to biochemical pathways, capable of reproducing complex developmental sequences in a biologically plausible way. Moreover, the conditional activation and deactivation of these instruction networks, can also be controlled by these primitives, allowing for the design of a "genetic code" containing both coding and regulating elements. We demonstrate in a simulation of physical cell development how this code can be incorporated into a single progenitor, which then by replication and differentiation, reproduces important aspects of corticogenesis.

• 出版日期2011-12-8