A Cognitive Architecture Based on Cognitive/Neurological Dual-System Theories

Abstract

In previous work [11], we introduced a cognitive architecture for the simulation of human behaviour based on Stanovich’s tripartite framework [1], which provides an explanation of how reflexive and adaptive human behaviour emerge from the interaction of three distinct cognitive levels (automatic/reactive, algorithmic and reflective) capable of dynamically influencing each other in real time. Dynamic control between the levels in the architecture was then enhanced with a diffuse control system, based on the physiology of neuromodulations. In this paper, we study the physiological, functional and gross (mesoscopic) anatomical parallels between our architecture and the human brain, in order to understand how reactive yet sequential and planned behavior can emerge from physical systems of interacting simple processors such as our agents or low-level neural processors.