geNorNics Brain: Lobes

Genome Content: C1/C2

Gene Sequence

Each lobe gene has six sections:

• general - count, positioning, regular header information (mutability, switch on, etc.).
• cell body - cell body dynamics and cell state rule (SVRule).
• d0 growth - class 0 dendrites growth, migration, and initial attachment details.
• d0 dynamics - class 0 dendrites dynamics.
• d1 growth - class 1 dendrites growth, migration, and initial attachment details.
• d1 dynamics - class 1 dendrites dynamics.

00 00 ## 00 00 sm xx yy ww hh pl

00 - gene type: brain
00 - gene subtype: lobe
## - gene subtype number
00 - unknown
00 - switch on: embryo
sm - sex-dependence/mutability
xx - starting x position
yy - starting y position
ww - width
hh - height
pl - perception lobe link

Notes

Gene Header

sm - sex dependence/mutability

No sex dependence. Lobes 1-4, 8, 9 - no mutability. Lobe 7 - mutable. Lobes 5 and 6 - mutable, duplicable. See the Header page for a complete discussion of this byte.

Lobe Position and Size

For a visual representation of lobe/neurone layout, see the Brainmap (C1 or C2).

xx - starting x position and yy - starting y position

The Norn brain is laid out onto a 64x48 grid of neurons. These two characters locate the upper left corner of the block of neurons for each lobe, in the form of (xx,yy) on the grid.

ww - width and hh - height

Each lobe consists of a block of neurons, and these two characters give the width and height of that block. The total number of neurons in a lobe is equal to the width times the height.

Data copied to Perception Lobe?

pl - perception lobe link

No (00) Yes (01) Mutually exclusive (02)

nt lk rs ig sr sr sr sr sr sr sr sr wt

nt - nominal threshold
lk - leakage rate
rs - rest state
ig - input gain lo-hi
sr - state rule
wt - winner takes all (WTA)

Notes

Cell Body Dynamics

Specifies neurone properties.

nt - nominal threshold

A neurone will fire if its state rises above the threshold. Ranges from 00 to FF.

lk - leakage rate

Ranges from FF to 00.

rs - rest state

Ranges from 00 to FF.

ig - input gain lo-hi

Ranges from 00 to FF.

wt - winner takes all (WTA)

Winner Takes All (WTA)

00 - no
01 - yes

WTA stands for "Winner Takes All." According to the Genetics Kit, when set (01), this means that all but the strongest-firing cell in the lobe is suppressed. This function can be used to decide which action or object wins the vote (in Decision and Attention lobes).

Neurone State Rule

Used to calculate the new state of every neurone each "tick" (about 4 times a second in Creatures).

sr - state rule

State Variable Rules (SVRules) are used to control synaptic behavior and to compute a neurone's state about four times every second. They are made up of up to eight "interpreted opcodes and operands," with the <end> marker used to mark the end of the rule.

00 - <end> 01 - 0 02 - 1 03 - 64 04 - 255 05 - chem 0 06 - chem 1 07 - chem 2 08 - chem 3 09 - state 0A - output 0B - thres 0C - type0 0D - type1 0E - anded 0 0F - anded 1 10 - input 11 - conduct 12 - Suscept 13 - STW 14 - LTW 15 - Strength 16 - TRUE 17 - PLUS 18 - MINUS 19 - TIMES 1A - INCR 1B - DECR 1C - <unused> 1D - <unused> 1E - <ERROR>

For example:

  09    17   0C     18    0D    00    00    00
  state:PLUS:type 0:MINUS:type1:<end>:<end>:<end>

 Class 0 inputs are excitatory / 
 Class 1 inputs are inhibitory.
 [newstate = state + class0 - class1]

sl ld ud sp fo ll ul ls us mr

sl - source lobe
ld - min # dendrites
ud - max # dendrites
sp - spread
fo - fanout
ll - min LTW
ul - max LTW
ls - min Strength
us - max Strength
mr - migration rule

Notes

Source Lobe

The source lobe for the dendrite connections for these dendrites.

sl - source lobe

00 - Perceptible i/ps 01 - Drive i/ps 02 - Stim Source i/ps 03 - Verb i/ps 04 - Noun i/ps 05 - General Sensory i/ps 06 - Decision o/ps 07 - Attention/Seek o/ps 08 - Lobe 8 09 - Lobe 9 0A - Lobe 10 0B - Lobe 11 0C - Lobe 12 0D - Lobe 13 0E - Lobe 14 0F - Lobe 15

Dendrite Properties

The distribution of dendrites, and the minimum and maximum allowed.

ld - min # dendrites

No idea what the upper limit of the range for this might be.

Minimum #

ud - max # dendrites

No idea what the upper limit of the range for this might be.

Maximum #

sp - spread

00  - - - Flat 01  /  \  Normal 02  |  \  Saw 03  /  |  waS

Initial Attachment

Properties for how dendrites wire themselves to neurones.

fo - fanout

Appears to range from 00 to 08.

ll - min LTW

Ranges from 00 to FF.

ul - max LTW

Ranges from 00 to FF.

ls - min Strength

Ranges from 00 to FF.

us - max Strength

Ranges from 00 to FF.

Migration Rules

The conditions under which dendrites migrate and find new connections.

mr - migration rule

00 - Dendrites do not migrate
01 - Migrate if ANY dendrite is loose and this cell is firing
02 - Migrate when ALL dens are loose

a1 a2 a3
ge gr gr gr gr gr gr gr gr le lr lr lr lr lr lr lr lr
ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss rr rr rr rr rr rr rr rr

a1 - relax susceptibility
a2 - relax STW
a3 - LTW gain rate
ge - gain every...
gr - gain rule
le - lose every...
lr - lose rule
ss - susceptibility
rr - reinforcement

Notes

Atrophy and Consolidation

Information covering the atrophy and strengthening properties for dendrite connections.

a1 - relax susceptibility

Ranges from FF (slow) to 00 (fast).

a2 - relax STW

Ranges from FF (slow) to 00 (fast).

a3 - LTW gain rate

Ranges from FF (slow) to 00 (fast).

Susceptibility/Reinforcement

ss - susceptibility

Another (optional) eight byte State Variable Rule (SVR) affecting the susceptibility of the dendrite link strength.

00 - <end> 01 - 0 02 - 1 03 - 64 04 - 255 05 - chem 0 06 - chem 1 07 - chem 2 08 - chem 3 09 - state 0A - output 0B - thres 0C - type0 0D - type1 0E - anded 0 0F - anded 1 10 - input 11 - conduct 12 - Suscept 13 - STW 14 - LTW 15 - Strength 16 - TRUE 17 - PLUS 18 - MINUS 19 - TIMES 1A - INCR 1B - DECR 1C - <unused> 1D - <unused> 1E - <ERROR>

For example:

  0A     16   10    00    00    00    00    00
  output:TRUE:input:MINUS:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>

rr - reinforcement

Another (optional) eight byte State Variable Rule (SVR) affecting the reinforcement of the dendrite link strength.

00 - <end> 01 - 0 02 - 1 03 - 64 04 - 255 05 - chem 0 06 - chem 1 07 - chem 2 08 - chem 3 09 - state 0A - output 0B - thres 0C - type0 0D - type1 0E - anded 0 0F - anded 1 10 - input 11 - conduct 12 - Suscept 13 - STW 14 - LTW 15 - Strength 16 - TRUE 17 - PLUS 18 - MINUS 19 - TIMES 1A - INCR 1B - DECR 1C - <unused> 1D - <unused> 1E - <ERROR>

For example:

  05     00    00    00    00    00    00    00
  chem 0:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>

Strength Adjustment

ge - gain every...

Gain every # if the value calculated by the gain rule is > 0. Range for # is unknown.

gr - gain rule

Another eight byte State Variable Rule (SVR), used to control Strength gain.

00 - <end> 01 - 0 02 - 1 03 - 64 04 - 255 05 - chem 0 06 - chem 1 07 - chem 2 08 - chem 3 09 - state 0A - output 0B - thres 0C - type0 0D - type1 0E - anded 0 0F - anded 1 10 - input 11 - conduct 12 - Suscept 13 - STW 14 - LTW 15 - Strength 16 - TRUE 17 - PLUS 18 - MINUS 19 - TIMES 1A - INCR 1B - DECR 1C - <unused> 1D - <unused> 1E - <ERROR>

For example:

  12      16   05     16   13  00    00    00    
  Suscept:TRUE:chem 0:TRUE:STW:<end>:<end>:<end>

le - lose every...

Lose every # if the value calculated by the lose rule is > 0. Range for # is unknown.

lr - lose rule

Another eight byte State Variable Rule (SVR), used to control Strength loss.

00 - <end> 01 - 0 02 - 1 03 - 64 04 - 255 05 - chem 0 06 - chem 1 07 - chem 2 08 - chem 3 09 - state 0A - output 0B - thres 0C - type0 0D - type1 0E - anded 0 0F - anded 1 10 - input 11 - conduct 12 - Suscept 13 - STW 14 - LTW 15 - Strength 16 - TRUE 17 - PLUS 18 - MINUS 19 - TIMES 1A - INCR 1B - DECR 1C - <unused> 1D - <unused> 1E - <ERROR>

For example:

  07     00    00    00    00    00    00    00
  chem 2:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>:<end>

D1 Growth

Repeat 10 bytes as noted in Dendrite 0 Growth above.

D1 Dynamics

Repeat 37 bytes as noted in Dendrite 0 Dynamics above.