claim

active

claim:the-muscle-itself-peripheral-biological-tissue-can-learn-and-make-decisions-autonomously-not-just-centralized-control-units-like-the-brain

The 'muscle' itself—peripheral biological tissue—can learn and make decisions autonomously, not just centralized control units like the brain

Theoretical claim that physical learning reveals non-modular information processing; contrasts traditional view of separated control (brain) from controlled elements (muscle)

Source paper

extracted_from

Learning without neurons in physical systems

(2022) · Menachem Stern · Arvind Murugan

Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count

Communities (3)

community

Bioelectric morphogenesis & anatomical intelligence
members_of
Levin-led research showing bioelectric signals encode and control anatomical goal states in living systems.
Substrate-agnostic behavioral inference of cognition
members_of
Cognition and sentience attributed solely via observable behavior, not neural substrate or species.
Distributed biological agency and morphogenetic learning
members_of
Non-neural and neural tissues exhibit autonomous learning and goal-directed behavior in closed-loop systems, from cultured neurons to bioelectric collectives, challenging centralized brain-centric models of cognition.

Frameworks (1)

framework

Physical learning
supports
Framework for solving inverse problems in which physical systems autonomously adapt their parameters in response to stimuli through local learning rules, without requiring computational design or explicit cost functions

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

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The collective intelligence of tissues is sophisticated enough to be trainable via reinforcement learning for specific morphological outcomes.hypothesis0.788
Ongoing test prediction: tissues can associate stimuli with rewards to modify anatomy.
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If different organizations of nervous tissue can achieve the same functions, the possibility that cognitive capacities, including sentience, can be achieved by other tissues should be considered.claim0.781
Conditional claim urging consideration of non-neural tissues for cognition.
Cognitive capacities including sentience can be achieved by non-neural tissueshypothesis0.767
Central hypothesis: sentience is not exclusive to neural systems; other biological substrates may achieve felt states.
Can Cognition And Learning Occur Without Neural Tissuequestion0.762
The bioelectric system is so versatile that it was readily exapted for behavior when nerve and muscle evolved, with a speed-up and focus on temporal signaling.claim0.756
Explains the evolutionary pivot from morphospace to behavioral space.
There is no privileged material substrate for Selves; cognition can arise in neurons, single cells, plants, tissues, swarms, and engineered systems.claim0.755
Second foundational pillar of TAME; supports basal cognition and rejects brain-centrism.
The body is a biological Ship of Theseus, remaining the 'same' object across decades of cellular turnover because of persistent bioelectric, biomechanical and biochemical pattern memories.claim0.753
Central claim about self-maintenance through radical component replacement.