Toussaint, Marc

The evolution of genetic representations and modular neural Adaptation

In nature we find beautifully complex organisms. The only waya stochastic search scheme like evolution can find such systemsis by adapting the genetic representation. This work develops atheory on the implicit adaptation of genetic representations duringevolution. Non-trivial genotype-phenotype mappings, neutrality,and the adaptation of phenotypic variability form the core of this theory.Complex, highly structured phenotypic adaptability, and rich innovatabilitytriggered by neutral reorganizations of the genetic code can be explainedin these terms. Some ideas are also transferred to neural adaptation.