The focus of the course in Spring 2002 is on the relation between vision, action and language, framed within the Mirror System Hypothesis which suggests that the brain's language mechanisms evolved from a basic system for matching perception and action.
The course is not only for students in computer science and related disciplines like electrical and biomedical engineering but also for students in cognitive science (anthropology, linguistics, neuroscience and psychology)
We have taken special care to design the lectures so that almost every lecture will be accessible to graduate students in good standing in any of these areas, so long as they are prepared to make the imaginative leap into a truly inter-disciplinary setting and read a small set of supplementary materials. On the other hand, we will offer students the chance to engage in a number of team projects in which all students will have the opportunity to contribute on the basis of their own disciplines.
For students of vision, action or language, the course will provide an opportunity to broaden their understanding of their own discipline through an interdisciplinary effort to integrate it with the other two perspectives.
For students in systems neuroscience or artificial intelligence, the course will provide a case study for analyzing the integrated activity of many neural subsystems within a behaving primate or human.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in neuroscience, linguistics or cognitive psychology; or CS 561 or CS 564; or consent of instructors.
Arbib, M.A., 2003, Beyond the Mirror: Biology and Culture in the Evolution of Brain and Language, Oxford University Press (Rough Draft)
Selected journal articles and related material.
Copyright © 2002 by the University of Southern California, iLab and Prof. Laurent Itti