Page 109 - Artificial Intelligence in the Age of Neural Networks and Brain Computing

3. Embodied Cognition 97

in the limbic system (indicated in the picture below by the asterix) and is transmitted
from there by corollary discharges to all sensory cortices in the process of preaffer-
ence. A new hypothesis forms and it is confirmed or denied by modified sensory
input resulting from anticipatory organism action.
Starting point for perception is limbic system, not sensory receptors [19].

3. EMBODIED COGNITION
In addition to ephapsis, Freeman concluded that the biology of meaning includes the
entire brain and body, with the history built by experience into bones, muscles, endo-
crine glands, and neural connections.

Meaningful states consist of pulses and waves in brain, the contraction of the
muscles, the joint angles of skeletal system, and the secretion of cells in the auto-
nomic and neuroendocrine systems. The skills of athletes, dancers and musicians,
live not only in their synapses but also in their limbs, fingers and torsos. Cognitive
scientists and biologists who study the molecular basis of learning in synapses
tend to overlook the fact that enlarged muscles and honed immune systems
have also learned to do their jobs. The strengths of connections between the neu-
rons and the properties of the body are continually shaped by learning and exer-
cise throughout a lifetime.