In the face of an object, humans have a huge advantage over machines: the machine can see the object at most, while we can not only see it, but also recognize whether the object has been seen before. How did human beings have this ability to recognize "have you seen it before"? The following experiment may provide the answer.
The so-called "seeing" of human beings is actually a complex process, which involves many brain regions in addition to the eyes. Most of the work is done by the primary visual brain area located in the back of the brain. This is especially true for the shape, size, and color of objects, as well as the direction and speed of motion. In addition, the part of the brain in the temporal lobe above our ears is also deeply involved in this activity. In particular, a brain region in the temporal lobe known as the "peri-nasal cortex" is thought to be involved in our ability to recognize whether objects have been seen before.
To investigate the role of the perinasal cortex in object recognition, Japanese scientists conducted an experiment with rhesus monkeys. First, the researchers trained a macaque to know what was a "new object" and what was an "old object": if an object appeared to it only once a month, it classified it as "new." ; if it appears in front of it every day, it is classified as an "old object". Trained macaques can quickly distinguish between old and new objects.
The researchers then used optogenetics to engineer neurons in the macaque's perinasal cortex so that they fired when exposed to light.
Next, an interesting result emerged: When the researchers stimulated the entire perinasal cortex with light, the macaques classified all objects that appeared in front of it as "old objects"-whether they had seen it before or not. This suggested that the neurons in the perirnasal cortex were firing signals they had "seen before."
However, if instead of stimulating the entire perirnasal cortex, stimulating different parts selectively, it would have different effects: stimulating the anterior part of the perirnasal cortex made macaques see all objects as "old objects", And stimulating the later parts will make it more likely to classify some objects as "new objects".
We know that "seeing" only belongs to the level of sensation; but judging whether an object is new or old, whether it is strange or familiar, already belongs to the level of consciousness. Thus, neurons in the perinasal cortex play an important role in helping vision rise to consciousness.
A better understanding of this process could help us improve the learning capabilities of artificial intelligence. Because any realistic robot needs to know not only what it sees, but also whether it has seen it before, but current artificial intelligence is still stuck in the rudimentary "seeing" stage.
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