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Markov Blankets and Mirror Symmetries. Free Energy Minimization and Mesocortical Anatomy
Version 1
: Received: 27 February 2024 / Approved: 28 February 2024 / Online: 29 February 2024 (05:39:38 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Wright, J.; Bourke, P. Markov Blankets and Mirror Symmetries—Free Energy Minimization and Mesocortical Anatomy. Entropy 2024, 26, 287. Wright, J.; Bourke, P. Markov Blankets and Mirror Symmetries—Free Energy Minimization and Mesocortical Anatomy. Entropy 2024, 26, 287.
Abstract
A theoretical account of development in mesocortical anatomy is derived from the free energy principle, operating in a neural field with both Hebbian and anti-Hebbian neural plasticity. An elementary structural unit is proposed, in which synaptic connections at mesoscale are arranged in paired patterns with mirror symmetry. Exchanges of synaptic flux in each pattern form coupled spatial eigenmodes, and the line of mirror reflection between the paired patterns operates as a Markov blanket, so that prediction errors in exchanges between the pairs are minimized. The theoretical analysis is then compared to the outcomes from a biological model of cortical neurodevelopment, in which neuron precursors are selected by apoptosis for cell body and synaptic connections maximizing synchrony and also minimizing axonal length. It is shown that this model results in patterns of connection with the anticipated mirror symmetries, at micro-, meso- and inter-arial scales, among lateral connections, and in cortical depth, explaining the spatial organization and functional significance of neuron response preferences, and compatible with features of both columnar and noncolumnar cortex. Multi-way interactions of mirrored representations provide a preliminary anatomically realistic model of cortical information processing.
Keywords
free energy principle; active inference; predictive coding; Markov blankets; cortical development; cortical mesoanatomy; cortical self-organization
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Neuroscience and Neurology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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