A dynamical connectionist model of idea generation

In this paper, we present a model for the generation of ideas within a creative thinking/brainstorming context. In the model, ideas emerge as conceptual combinations from the interaction of complex dynamics at several semantic levels: features, concepts, categories, and previously generated ideas. This dynamics is shaped by external information on task context, constraints and goals, and is modulated by evaluative feedback from an internal critic working through reinforcement. While the model is abstract, it attempts to capture the interplay between semantic representations in the temporal, frontal and parietal cortices, working memory in the prefrontal cortex, attentional selection by the basal ganglia, and modulation from the dopaminergic reward system. We show that a context-specific itinerant search for novel but meaningful conceptual combinations (ideas) emerges naturally from the dynamics of this system. We also briefly describe a computational model for ideation in groups using a multi-agent formalism. The initial focus of this model is on studying the potential benefits of cognitive diversity in agent groups, e.g., the presence of convergent and divergent thinkers, or agents with different semantic organizations.