Cell Assemblies (CAs)
- This is Hebb's 1949 proposal for how mammals store concepts
- Concepts are stored by a large number of neurons that have
a great deal of mutual synaptic strength.
- That is they tend to activate each other.
- So, if a few of the neurons are activated, they will
activate the rest.
- This ignites a reverberating circuit that can remain active
long after the initial stimuli has stopped.
- This reverberating circuit is an assembly of neurons or cells:
a Cell Assembly or a CA for short.
- Initially the network of neurons has no or few CAs, but it
learns new ones.
- The connection strength between the neurons is increased
via Hebbian learning; when two neurons are coactive the
synaptic weight tends to increase.
- Traditionally, the neuro-physiological basis of Hebbian learning
is Long-Term Potentiation and Depression.
- The environment provides the initial stimulus, so the CAs
are formed around groups of things that tend to co-occur in
the environment.
