Abstract
It has been suggested that cognitive learning is enhanced by perceptual immaturity in infancy, which is called maturational constraints. This paper demonstrates the role of visual maturational constraints lifted by self-organization in the learner's visual space. As a case study of cognitive learning, a robot learns the mirror neuron system (MNS) by associating self-motor commands with observed motions while the observed motions are gradually self-organized. A temporal convergence of the self-organization triggers visual development. Experimental results show that the self-triggered development enables the robot to adaptively change the speed of the development and thus to acquire clearer correspondence between self and other (i.e., the MNS).
