Connectionists: Paper: Memetics and Neural Models of Conspiracy Theories

[Włodzisław Duch]

Memetics and Neural Models of Conspiracy Theories

 

Conspiracy theories, or in general seriously distorted beliefs, are
widespread. How and why are they formed in the brain is still more a matter
of speculation rather than science. In this paper one plausible mechanisms
is investigated: rapid freezing of high neuroplasticity (RFHN). Emotional
arousal increases neuroplasticity and leads to creation of new pathways
spreading neural activation. Using the language of neurodynamics a meme is
defined as quasi-stable associative memory attractor state. Depending on the
temporal characteristics of the incoming information and the plasticity of
the network, memory may self-organize creating memes with large attractor
basins, linking many unrelated input patterns. Memes with fake rich
associations distort relations between memory states. 

 

Simulations of various neural network models trained with competitive
Hebbian learning (CHL) on stationary and non-stationary data lead to the
same conclusion: short learning with high plasticity followed by rapid
decrease of plasticity leads to memes with large attraction basins,
distorting input pattern representations in associative memory. Such
system-level models may be used to understand creation of distorted beliefs
and formation of conspiracy memes, understood as strong attractor states of
the neurodynamics.

 

http://arxiv.org/abs/1508.04561

 

Regards, 

Włodzisław Duch 

____________________

 <http://www.google.com/search?q=W.+Duch> Google W. Duch 

 

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