The brain is both neurocomputer and quantum computer

In their article, Is the Brain a Quantum Computer,? Litt, Eliasmith, Kroon, Weinstein, and Thagard (2006) criticize the Penrose–Hameroff “Orch OR” quantum computational model of consciousness, arguing instead for neurocomputation as an explanation for mental phenomena. Here I clarify and defend Orch OR, show how Orch OR and neurocomputation are compatible, and question whether neurocomputation alone can physiologically account for coherent gamma synchrony EEG, a candidate for the neural correlate of consciousness. Orch OR is based on quantum computation in microtubules within dendrites in cortex and other regions linked by dendritic–dendritic gap junctions (“dendritic webs”) acting as laterally connected input layers of the brain's neurocomputational architecture. Within dendritic webs, consciousness is proposed to occur as gamma EEG‐synchronized sequences of discrete quantum computational events acting in integration phases of neurocomputational “integrate‐and‐fire” cycles. Orch OR is a viable approach toward understanding how the brain produces consciousness.     

Stimulus significance effects in habituation of the phasic and tonic orienting reflex

Phasic and tonic measures of electrodermal activity were examined in a simple habituation paradigm, using innocuous visual stimuli. Separate groups were used to investigate the effects of stimulus significance, as manipulated by instructions. One group had no stimulus-related task (indifferent group), while the other was asked to silently count the stimuli to report to the experimenter later (significant group). Prestimulus skin conductance levels were considered as measures of the arousal level at each stimulus presentation, and the subsequent electrodermal responses were taken as the phasic orienting reflex (OR) elicited by each stimulus. Changes in prestimulus arousal were taken as measures of the tonic OR to the experimental series. Marked group differences were found in both phasic and tonic components of the OR. Some, but not all, of the significance effects in the phasic OR were attributable to differences in arousal. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of the OR.     

Formal assessment of reliability specifications in embedded cyber-physical systems

Reliability has become an integral component of the design intent of embedded cyber-physical systems. Safety-critical embedded systems are designed with specific reliability targets, and design practices include the appropriate allocation of both spatial and temporal redundancies in the implementation to meet such requirements. With increasing complexity of such systems and considering the large number of components in such systems, redundancy allocation requires a formal scientific basis. In this work, we profess the analysis of the redundancy requirement upfront with the objective of making it an integral part of the specification. The underlying problem is one of synthesizing a formal specification with built-in redundancy artifacts, from the formal properties of the error-free system, the error probabilities of the control components, and the reliability target. We believe that upfront formal analysis of redundancy requirements is important in budgeting the resource requirements from a cost versus reliability perspective. Several case-studies from the automotive domain highlight the efficacy of our proposal.     

Three approaches to the study of infant temperament

In temperament research, the sensitive quantification of individual differences is critical, and biases affecting temperament measures differ somewhat from those affecting normative studies of development. In this paper, we attempt to specify major biases and strengths of the three methods most widely used in the assessment of infant temperament: parent report, home observation, and laboratory observation. We also describe an ongoing research program in order to illustrate how potential biases may be negotiated. We conclude that choice of temperament measure or measures depends upon (a) the purpose of the assessment, (b) knowledge of empirical relations among methods, and (c) evaluations of the seriousness of potential measurement biases.     

Changes in thinking about early sex role development

How do we learn to recognize ourselves and to live as beings endowed with gender? This paper discusses changes in our answer to this question over the last 15 years. As our methods of study have changed, we have been forced to see the development of sex role as an increasingly complicated process. This paper documents two studies that were attempts to bring together two methodologies: cognitive development and social learning. In the first study, 180 children were tested using the R. G. Slaby and K. S. Frey (1975, Child Development, 46, 849–856) gender identification interview. The findings documented that children's gender understanding followed the sequence predicted by L. Kohlberg (1966, in E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press): identity, stability, and constancy. However, the child's level of gender understanding was unrelated to the adoption of sex-typed behaviors. In the second study, a second group of 64 children, 20 to 30 months of age, were tested for understanding of gender labels, gender identity, and sex-typed behaviors. Sex of playmates and boys' play with feminine toys were related to understanding of verbal gender labels. Reasons for continuing problems of interpretation in the sex role area are discussed.