Topological alignement

How do our minds ground cognition in the diverse and complex stimuli we encounter in our environment? This question lies at the heart of understanding cognitive processes?

The Topological Alignment Hypothesis explains how action and perceptual representational spaces interact and integrate, allowing us to make sense of our experiences.

• The cortex contains topological maps of perceptual states and motor plans.
• Action maps are already aligned with perceptual maps, meaning that a location in one map corresponds to a location in the other map.
• Throughout an individual’s life, the distribution of actions and perceptual patterns in the cortical maps are acquired in tandem through interaction.
• When these patterns are established, neural activity in a shared location signifies a sensorimotor event, connecting the action taken by the individual with the resulting perception.

Mannella F. and Tummolini L. (2023), "Kick-starting concept formation with intrinsically motivated learning: The grounding by competence acquisition hypothesis", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Vol. 378(1870) Royal Society Publishing. [DOI] [URL]