Extending Causal Models from Machines into Humans

Extending animal models of fear conditioning to humans.

A goal of fear and anxiety research is to understand how to treat the potentially devastating effects of anxiety disorders in humans. Much of this research utilizes classical fear conditioning, a simple paradigm that has been extensively investigated in animals, helping outline a brain circuitry thought to be responsible for the acquisition, expression and extinction of fear. The findings from ...

Causal Explanation from Mathematical Models

Decision support systems may require the use of existing complex mathematical models. It is desirable to reduce the equations of such a model to an explanatory causal form to support decision making, for example in making decisions about the greenhouse effect. This paper presents an approach to constructing causal explanation from existing complex mathematical models. The method combines inform...

Causal Learning in Humans

Extending Introspective Learning from Self-Models

This position paper presents open issues for using self-models to guide introspective learning, focusing on five key types of areas to explore: (1) broadening the range of learning focuses and the range of learning tools which may be brought to bear, (2) learning for self-understanding as well as self-repair, (3) making model-based approaches more sensitive to processing characteristics, instea...

Extending healthy life span--from yeast to humans.

When the food intake of organisms such as yeast and rodents is reduced (dietary restriction), they live longer than organisms fed a normal diet. A similar effect is seen when the activity of nutrient-sensing pathways is reduced by mutations or chemical inhibitors. In rodents, both dietary restriction and decreased nutrient-sensing pathway activity can lower the incidence of age-related loss of ...