Genetically generated neural networks-I: representational effects

The author studied several applications of genetic algorithms (GAs) within the neural networks field. After generating a robust GA engine, the system was used to generate neural network circuit architectures. This was accomplished by using the GA to determine the weights in a fully interconnected network. The importance of the internal genetic representation was shown by testing different approaches. The effects on speed of optimization by varying the constraints imposed upon the desired network were also studied. It was observed that relatively loose constraints provided results comparable to a fully constrained system. The type of neural network circuit generated was the recurrent competitive field as described by S. Grossberg (1982)