The Mystery of Structure and Function of Sensory Processing Areas of the Neocortex: A Resolution

Many different neural models have been proposed to account for major characteristics of the memory phenomenon family in primates. However, in spite of the large body of neurophysiological, anatomical and behavioral data, there is no direct evidence for supporting one model while falsifying the others. And yet, we can discriminate models based on their complexity and/or their predictive power. In this paper we present a computational framework with our basic assumption that neural information processing is performed by generative networks. A complex architecture is 'derived' by using information-theoretic principles. We find that our approach seems to uncover possible relations among the functional memory units (declarative and implicit memory) and the process of information encoding in primates. The architecture can also be related to the entorhinal-hippocampal loop. An effort is made to form a prototype of this computational architecture and to map it onto the functional units of the neocortex. This mapping leads us to claim that one may gain a better understanding by considering that anatomical and functional layers of the cortex differ. Philosophical consequences regarding the homunculus fallacy are also considered.