# The Architecture of a Biologically Plausible Language Organ

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.15364 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.15364/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 36 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Jun 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [A Biologically Plausible Parser](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.02189/) (2021)
- [Assemblies of neurons learn to classify well-separated distributions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.03171/) (2021)
- [Center-Embedding and Constituency in the Brain and a New Characterization of Context-Free Languages](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.13217/) (2022)
- [Planning with Biological Neurons and Synapses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.08186/) (2021)
- [Effects of Plasticity Functions on Neural Assemblies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.14853/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

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.