A Model of Spatial Development from Parieto-Hippocampal Learning of Body-Place Associations

Alexandre Pitti (1) , H. Mori (1) , Y. Yamada (1) , Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1)

1 ISI laboratory - Laboratory for Intelligent Systems and Informatics, Department of Mechano-Informatics Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Infants' ability to orient their actions in space improves dramatically after their sixth month when they start to plan the correct motion of their hands for reaching objects. Recent developmental studies speculate that this enhancement of spatial memory corresponds to the activation of the hippocampal system that shapes the parieto-motor cortices for long-term spatial representation. We suggest that the mechanism of phase precession, which plays an active role in the para-hippocampal cortices to transform the continuous body signals into a precise temporal code could contribute as a key component for learning body-place associations. In a computer simulation of a nine-months old baby, we show how the hippocampal system transforms the input signals from the arm muscles into a phase code, the parietal system uses it then to build a topological map of reaching locations cells combined with eyes vision cells. It follows that one body posture can be retrieved back from estimating visually its location (e.g., for a reaching task).

Mots clés: phase precession; body-place association; peripersonal space; body image

Domaines: Robotique [cs.RO]; Neurosciences; Intelligence artificielle [cs.AI]

Alexandre Pitti, H. Mori, Y. Yamada, Yasuo Kuniyoshi. A Model of Spatial Development from Parieto-Hippocampal Learning of Body-Place Associations. 10th International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics, 2010, Sweden. pp.89-96. ⟨hal-00768929⟩