Detection Instability
The Detection Instability task evaluates whether an evolved Dynamic Neural Field (DNF) architecture can reliably detect a transient external stimulus and propagate this detection to an output field.
The desired behaviour is:
- An external stimulus induces a localised activation peak in the input field.
- This peak is self-stabilized during stimulus presentation.
- Activity is transmitted to the output field, which also forms a corresponding peak.
- After stimulus offset, both fields relax back to baseline (no persistent memory).
This task tests the most fundamental Dynamic Field Theory mechanism: stimulus-driven detection without memory.
The highest-fitness solutions consistently converge to a minimal topology:
- Fields: 2 (input → output)
- Hidden fields: 0
- Connections: 1 excitatory feedforward coupling
- Dynamics: Gaussian lateral interaction kernels within each field
The figure above shows:
- Blue: activity during stimulus presentation
- Red: activity after stimulus removal
Both fields exhibit a stimulus-driven peak that disappears once the input is removed, matching the detection instability criterion.
Analysed 100 runs; 100 reached the fitness threshold (100.0% success, threshold = 0.950)
- Mean: 1.00
- Median: 1.00
- Std: 0.00
- Mean convergence rate (fitness gain/gen): 0.2267
- Mean fitness improvement/gen: 0.2267
- Hidden fields (mean ± std): 0.00 ± 0.00
- Enabled connections (mean ± std): 1.00 ± 0.00
| label | run | value |
|---|---|---|
| Highest max fitness | 2026-01-23 10h11m26s | 0.974337 |
| Lowest max fitness | 2026-01-23 10h28m18s | 0.959235 |
| Fastest to threshold | 2026-01-23 09h46m06s | 1.0 |
| Slowest to threshold | 2026-01-23 09h46m06s | 1.0 |
| Most hidden fields | 2026-01-23 09h46m06s | 0.0 |
| Most enabled connections | 2026-01-23 09h46m06s | 1.0 |
Detection Instability is trivially solvable for neat-dnfs:
- Evolution converges in a single generation.
- The minimal architecture is sufficient and consistently rediscovered.
- This task serves as a baseline sanity check for stimulus propagation and transient peak formation.