How to study the neural mechanisms of multiple tasks

Publication date: October 2019Source: Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Volume 29Author(s): Guangyu Robert Yang, Michael W Cole, Kanaka RajanMost biological and artificial neural systems are capable of completing multiple tasks. However, the neural mechanism by which multiple tasks are accomplished within the same system is largely unclear. We start by discussing how different tasks can be related, and methods to generate large sets of inter-related tasks to study how neural networks and animals perform multiple tasks. We then argue that there are mechanisms that emphasize either specialization or flexibility. We will review two such neural mechanisms underlying multiple tasks at the neuronal level (modularity and mixed selectivity), and discuss how different mechanisms can emerge depending on training methods in neural networks.
Source: Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research