A computational model for conscious visual perception and figure/ground separation

The human brain is able to perform a number feats that researchers have not been able to replicate in artificial systems. Unsolved questions include: Why are we conscious and how do we process visual information from the input stimulus right down to the individual action. We have created a computational model of visual information processing. A network of spiking neurons, a single layer, is simulated. This layer processes visual information from a virtual retina. In contrast to the standard integrate and fire behavior of biological neurons, we focus on lateral connections between neurons of the same layer. We assume that neurons performing the same function are laterally connected through gap junctions. These lateral connections allow the neurons responding to the same stimulus to synchronize their firing behavior. The lateral connections also enable the neurons to perform figure/ground separation. Even though we describe our model in the context of visual information processing, it is clear that the methods described, can be applied to other kinds of information, e.g. auditory.