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A Review on Feature Binding Theory and Its Functions Observed in Perceptual Process

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Abstract

Binding problem, which is also called feature binding, is primarily about integrating distributed information scattered on different cortical areas in a reasonable way. As a key problem in cognitive science and neuroscience, this concept is increasingly becoming a focus of consciousness study. This paper first introduced the concept, characteristics, and biological basis of feature binding. Then, this paper illustrated three feature binding theories namely feature integration theory, synchronous neural activation theory, and neural network model of feature binding, and then reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of these three feature binding theories. To demonstrate why feature binding indeed exists, we reviewed works on the functions of feature binding observed in perceptual learning. Conclusions were reached that feature binding exists in many processes of perception. This paper also suggested future research in this area should focus on systematic study of bundled brain mechanisms.

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Notes

  1. Here, we suppose the box and the hat have only three attributes just to make our demonstration simpler.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.61379101 and 61672522), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (No.2013CB329502), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higer Education Institutions, and Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center on Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology.

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  1. School of Computer Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Shifei Ding, Lingheng Meng & Youzhen Han

  2. Key Laboratory of Intelligent Information Processing, Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Shifei Ding, Lingheng Meng & Youzhen Han

  3. School of Computer and Software, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Yu Xue

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  1. Shifei Ding
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Ding, S., Meng, L., Han, Y. et al. A Review on Feature Binding Theory and Its Functions Observed in Perceptual Process. Cogn Comput 9, 194–206 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12559-016-9446-0

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