# Internal Feedback in Biological Control: Locality and System Level Synthesis

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.11757 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.11757/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 24 Sep 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Large Language Models and the Reverse Turing Test](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.14382/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The presence of internal feedback pathways (IFPs) is a prevalent yet unexplained phenomenon in the brain. Motivated by experimental observations on 1) motor-related signals in visual areas, and 2) massively distributed processing in the brain, we approach this problem from a sensorimotor standpoint and make use of distributed optimal controllers to explain IFPs. We use the System Level Synthesis (SLS) controller to model neural phenomena such as signaling delay, local processing, and local reaction. Based on the SLS controller, we make qualitative predictions about IFPs that strongly align with existing experimental observations. We introduce a `mesocircuit' for optimal performance with distributed and local processing, and local disturbance rejection; this mesocircuit requires extreme amounts of IFPs and memory for proper function. This is the first theory that replicates the massive amounts of IFPs in the brain purely from a priori principles, providing a new theoretical basis upon which we can build to better understand the inner workings of the brain.