Neural clique

Neural cliques, network-level memory coding units in the hippocampus, are functionally organized in a categorical and hierarchical manner. Researchers investigating the role of neural cliques have gained insight into the process of storing memories in the brain. Research evidence suggests that memory of events is achieved not through memorization of exact event details, but through recreation of select images based on cognitive significance. This process enables the brain to exhibit large storage capacity, but also facilitates the capacity for abstract reasoning and generalization. Research has demonstrated that real-time patterns of memory traces, retained in neural cliques, can be mathematically described, directly visualized, and dynamically deciphered.

Neural populations

Neuroscientists widely agree that neural populations convey information more effectively than individual neurons. Researchers have been able to map out distinct patterns of neural activity in the hippocampus triggered by different events. The activity patterns associated with certain startling experiences recurred spontaneously—at intervals ranging from seconds to minutes after the actual event—that showed similar trajectories, including the characteristic geometric shape, but with smaller amplitudes than their original responses.

See also

Ongoing research

An independent research effort by Owen Thomas is being conducted around the notion of neural cliques. Called "Clique Space", this system uses the idea of cliques which form, grow, contract, and disband to direct clusters of devices known as Agent Devices to coordinate the activity between themselves and other external devices. External devices provide sensory input and actuator output to the cognitive function of a Clique Space cluster. Owen Thomas envisages this system has a fundamental ability to exhibit neural and cognitive function limited only by the scale of an underlying Clique Space cluster and to the variety of Agent Device and external device connections.

Individual Agent Devices, and hence, cognitive state, can be shared amongst multiple Clique Spaces in such a way that permits Clique Space users the ability to share and coordinate device activity in accordance with the constrained affinity of individual preference by modelling this interaction as cliques. Essentially, Clique Space can model and coordinate activity of arbitrary complexity as a set of cliques with each clique's participants representing a user with one or more devices participating in some well-defined collaboration determined by a common medium levied by a single Participant denoted the clique's owner. All participants within a clique express a mode constrained by the clique's owner.

The Clique Space concept is being implemented in Java SE. Owen promises no delivery schedule because in July 2008 when he started development, and unaware at that time of complicating contingencies, he estimated two years to be plenty of time to prove or disprove his hypothesis. While he has still to assemble a demonstrable prototype, his confidence in the efficacy of Clique Space continues to grow as he continues to find solutions to contingencies that do not violate his original intent.

Owen Thomas asserts that "Clique Space" is a trademark, and the concept is the subject of a patent registered in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. His proprietary claim on the concept, and his copyright on its implementation are a pre-emptive attempt at protecting his investment in a technology should Clique Space be proven to work. His code is subject to standard copyright provisions, but should his concept indeed work, he intends that the technology become open source. He has a business plan that he will attempt to execute should the technology be proven. Finally, Owen invites the support of others if, at this early stage of development, others believe they can offer support.

References

"Organizing principles of real-time memory encoding: neural clique assemblies and universal neural codes", Longnian Lin, Remus Osan and Joe Z. Tsien, Trends in Neurosciences, vol 29, no 1, January 2006, p 48-57

External links