Abstract
This work contains a theoretical study and computer simulations of a new self-organizing process. The principal discovery is that in a simple network of adaptive physical elements which receives signals from a primary event space, the signal representations are automatically mapped onto a set of output responses in such a way that the responses acquire the same topological order as that of the primary events. In other words, a principle has been discovered which facilitates the automatic formation of topologically correct maps of features of observable events. The basic self-organizing system is a one- or two-dimensional array of processing units resembling a network of threshold-logic units, and characterized by short-range lateral feedback between neighbouring units. Several types of computer simulations are used to demonstrate the ordering process as well as the conditions under which it fails.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amari, S.-I.: Topographic organization of nerve fields. Bull. Math. Biol. 42, 339–364 (1980)
Hebb, D.: Organization of behavior. New York: Wiley 1949
Kohonen, T.: Associative memory — a system-theoretical approach. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer 1977, 1978
Kohonen, T.: Automatic formation of topological maps of patterns in a self-organizing system. In: Proc. 2nd Scand. Conf. on Image Analysis, pp. 214–220, Oja, E., Simula, O. (eds.). Espoo: Suomen Hahmontunnistustutkimuksen Seura 1981
Levy, W.: Limiting characteristics of a candidate elementary memory unit: LTP studies of entorhinal-dentate synapses. (To appear in a book based on the workshop “Synaptic modification, neuron selectivity, and nervous system organization”, Brown University, Rhode Island, Nov. 16–19, 1980)
Lynch, G.S., Rose, G., Gall, C.M.: In: Functions of the septohippocampal system, pp. 5–19. Amsterdam: Ciba Foundation, Elsevier 1978
Malsburg, Ch. von der: Self-organization of orientation sensitive cells in the striate cortex. Kybernetik 14, 85–100 (1973)
Malsburg, Ch. von der, Willshaw, D.J.: How to label nerve cells so that they can interconnect in an ordered fashion. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 5176–5178 (1977)
Mountcastle, V.B.: Modality and topographic properties of single neurons of cat's somatic sensory cortex. J. Neurophys. 20, 408–434 (1957)
Oja, E.: A simplified neuron model as a principal component analyzer (1981) (to be published)
Rauschecker, J.P., Singer, W.: Changes in the circuitry of the kitten's visual cortex are gated by postsynaptic activity. Nature 280, 58–60 (1979)
Reale, R.A., Imig, T.J.: Tonotopic organization in auditory cortex of the cat. J. Comp. Neurol. 192, 265–291 (1980)
Rosenblatt, F.: Principles of neurodynamics: Perceptrons and the theory of brain mechanisms. Washington, D.C.: Spartan Books 1961
Singer, W., Rauschecker, J., Werth, R.: The effect of monocular exposure to temporal contrasts on ocular dominance in kittens. Brain Res. 134, 568–572 (1977)
Swindale, N.V.: A model for the formation of ocular dominance stripes. Proc. R. Soc. B 208, 243–264 (1980)
Towe, A.: Notes on the hypothesis of columnar organization in somatosensory cerebral cortex. Brain Behav. Evol. 11, 16–47 (1975)
Willshaw, D.J., Malsburg, Ch. von der: How patterned neural connections can be set up by self-organization. Proc. R. Soc. B 194, 431–445 (1976)
Willshaw, D.J., Malsburg, Ch. von der: A marker induction mechanism for the establishment of ordered neural mappings; its application to the retino-tectal problem. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 287, 203–243 (1979)
Wilson, H.R., Cowan, J.D.: A mathematical theory of the functional dynamics of cortical and thalamic nervous tissue. Kybernetik 13, 55–80 (1973)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kohonen, T. Self-organized formation of topologically correct feature maps. Biol. Cybern. 43, 59–69 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337288
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337288