We present a simulated biologically plausible language organ, made up of stylized but realistic neurons, synapses, brain areas, plasticity, and a simplified model of sensory perception. We show through experiments that this model succeeds in an important early step in language acquisition: the learning of nouns, verbs, and their meanings, from the grounded input of only a modest number of sentences. Learning in this system is achieved through Hebbian plasticity, and without backpropagation. Our model goes beyond a parser previously designed in a similar environment, with the critical addition of a biologically plausible account for how language can be acquired in the infant's brain, not just processed by a mature brain.

翻译：我们提出一个模拟的生物学上可信的语言器官，由风格化但真实的神经元、突触、脑区、可塑性机制以及简化的感知模型构成。实验表明，该模型成功实现了语言习得中一个重要的早期步骤：仅通过数量有限、基于情境的句子输入，即可习得名词、动词及其语义。该系统通过赫布可塑性实现学习，无需反向传播。我们的模型超越了此前在类似环境中设计的分析器，其关键创新在于提供了一个生物学上可信的机制，解释语言如何在婴儿大脑中被习得，而不仅仅是成熟大脑对语言的处理过程。