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Content archived on 2024-05-29

Dynamics of memory: The Notion of representation revisited

Objective

This project aims at contributing to our understanding of the dynamics of change in complex systems. To do so, we propose to revisit the notion of representation as an emergent process by reconsidering the relationship between cognitive invariants and variability, and by suggesting that it is not the invariants that are represented, but rather the dynamics that makes it possible for the system to reach invariance. In this framework, variability in performance is seen as a central determinant of adapted behaviour.

The importance that variability plays in behaviour is highlighted by the fact that living organisms have a remarkable capacity to adapt to a multitude of constraints. This suggests that variability plays a central role in making adaptive stability possible, that is, a kind of stability that also remains flexible enough so as to continue to be able to adapt to changing constraints from the environment. We surmise that achieving this kind of adaptive stability crucially depends on the continued presence of variability in the cognitive system. The work we propose to undertake is to study the process of consolidation in memory, seen as an implicit process as it has been approached in the domain of implicit learning (Cleeremans, 1997, 2002). Because response variability is an unconscious phenomenon, a good way to explore the functional role of variability is to focus on elementary learning situations, that is, implicit learning situations.

In this context, I will explore three central issues:
(1) the extent to which response variability is an implicit or explicit process,
(2) the importance of rules in movement planning, and
(3) the computational modelling of motor performance and the study of dynamics of change, using recurrent networks.

This work will be conducted at the Cognitive Science Research Unit managed by A. Cleeremans at the ULB (Belgium), and will involve a continuing collaboration with the Cortex team (INRIA, F. Alexandre, France).

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5
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Funding Scheme

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EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
EU contribution
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Total cost

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