EMOTIONAL LEARNING: A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL OF THE AMYGDALA

Abstract

We describe work in progress with the aim of constructing a computational model of emotional learning and processing inspired by neurophysiological findings. The main brain areas modeled are the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex and the interaction between them. We want to show that (1) there exists enough physiological data to suggest the overall architecture of a computational model, (2) emotion plays a clear role in learning the behavior. We review neurophysiological data and present a computational model that is subsequently tested in simulation.