TITLE:
Astrocyte-Synapse Receptor Coupling in Tripartite Synapses: A Mechanism for Self-Observing Robots
AUTHORS:
Bernhard J. Mitterauer
KEYWORDS:
Tripartite Synapse, Cyclic Organization, Receptor Coupling, Self-Observation, Conscious Robots
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.9 No.2,
February
14,
2018
ABSTRACT: A model
of an intentional self-observing system is proposed based on the structure and
functions of astrocyte-synapse interactions in tripartite synapses. Astrocyte-synapse
interactions are cyclically organized and operate via feedforward and feedback
mechanisms, formally described by proemial counting. Synaptic, extrasynaptic
and astrocyte receptors are interpreted as places with the same or different
quality of information processing described by the combinatorics of tritograms.
It is hypothesized that receptors on the astrocytic membrane may embody
intentional programs that select corresponding synaptic and extrasynaptic
receptors for the formation of receptor-receptor complexes. Basically, the act
of self-observation is generated if the actual environmental information is
appropriate to the intended observation processed by receptor-receptor
complexes. This mechanism is implemented for a robot brain enabling the robot
to experience environmental information as “its own”. It is suggested that this mechanism enables the
robot to generate matches and mismatches between intended observations and the
observations in the environment, based on the cyclic organization of the
mechanism. In exploring an unknown environment the robot may stepwise construct
an observation space, stored in memory, commanded and controlled by the
intentional self-observing system. Finally, the role of self-observation in
machine consciousness is shortly discussed.