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The Variational Principles of Cognition

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Advances in Dynamics, Patterns, Cognition

Part of the book series: Nonlinear Systems and Complexity ((NSCH,volume 20))

Abstract

This chapter provides a theoretical perspective on a dynamics, from the perspective of the free-energy principle. This variational principle offers a natural explanation for neuronal activity that is formulated in terms of dynamical systems and attracting sets. We will see that the free-energy principle emerges when we consider the ensemble dynamics of any pattern forming, self-organizing system. When we look closely what this principle implies for the behavior of systems like the brain, one finds a fairly simple explanation for active inference and the Bayesian brain hypothesis. Within the Bayesian brain framework, the ensuing dynamics can be separated, in a principled way, into those serving perceptual inference, learning and behavior. Dynamics here are central; not only to an understanding the nature of self-organizing systems but also to explain the adaptive nature of neuronal dynamics and plasticity in terms of optimization. The special focus of this chapter is on the pre-eminent role of heteroclinic cycles in providing deep and dynamic (generative) models of the sensorium; particularly, the sensations that we generate ourselves through movement. In what follows, we will briefly rehearse the basic theory and illustrate its implications using simulations of action (handwriting)—and its observation.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Mikhail Rabinovich for his guidance and insights into winnerless competition and its formulation in terms of generalized Lotka–Volterra systems that underly the work presented in this chapter. The Wellcome Trust funded this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK

    Karl Friston

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  1. Karl Friston
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Correspondence to Karl Friston .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Igor S. Aranson

  2. Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Arkady Pikovsky

  3. BioCircuits Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Nikolai F. Rulkov

  4. BioCircuits Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Lev S. Tsimring

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Friston, K. (2017). The Variational Principles of Cognition. In: Aranson, I., Pikovsky, A., Rulkov, N., Tsimring, L. (eds) Advances in Dynamics, Patterns, Cognition. Nonlinear Systems and Complexity, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53673-6_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53673-6_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53673-6

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