Efficient dendritic learning as an alternative to synaptic plasticity hypothesis

[Bitking]

While the papers authors are emphasizing the “new” role played by the dendrite I don’t think that is completely eliminates the role of the individual synapses.

I proposed the basic mechanism outlined in the paper as “residue of experience” in prior posts as an interaction between the synapse and in the dendrite to facilitate learning:
" Here is where I will strike out on my own with a proposal based on various hints I have seen in the literature; as the learning occurs I propose that the metabolites accumulate in the cell body, more than likely in the dendrite. This is what I call the ROE (residue of experience) - or a chemical memory independent of direct modifications of the synaptic connection nodes. This is not essential to the proposed process but a possible enhancement."

On the necessity of sleep

To add a little more background on the nature of what is being encoded: I believe that everything that you learn is framed and parsed in terms of what you have learned before; you learn delta coding based on your prior life experiences. If you extend this all the way back you build on your innate built-in instinctive and emotional wiring as dictated by your genetics. It is nature first, then nurture. To flesh this out - as you experience the world prior memories are being recalled as part of y…

and

What are the known learning rules?

The nervous system has the ability to remember things in multiple time frames, from the present here-and-now through very long time frames. There seem to be different learning mechanisms for different time frames and for different structures in the brain. There is one rule that is clearly part of the human experience but not well represented in the usual machine learning literature: Delayed reinforcement.[1] An example that illustrates this feature is eating a dodgy meal. You eat it and everyt…