Topic: Bayesian algorithms

Algorithms generate input-output mappings through step-by-step operations on representations. Cognitive scientists use algorithms to explain mental processes. For example, they use tree-search algorithms to explain planning, reinforcement learning algorithms to explain exploration, and Bayesian algorithms to explain categorization. The standard approach is to search for parts in the brain corresponding to the steps of the algorithm. But we haven’t been able to find many such parts. This has led some to deny that algorithms are useful to systems neuroscience, and to interpret neural systems usi