A Model of Consciousness and Attention Aimed at Speedy Autonomous Adaptation

An advanced model is proposed that can explain the function in short term adaptation. Associative temporal memory and the function of top-down attention are adopted in the model, in which consciousness and attention are defined as clearly different functions; consciousness is mainly defined as a process of learning as a whole system, and attention is defined as functions that quickly select resources with priority based on the information for learning. These functions work by complementing each other via associative temporal memory. As a result, consciousness and attention are explained as fundamental functions for an autonomous adaptive system to be efficiently and speedily adapted to an environment. Even though the model proposed here has a configuration similar to Global Workspace Theory (GWT) including Global Neural Workspace (GNW), it differs greatly from our model in its basic purposes and functions.