A primary goal is to study algorithms that implement idealizations of some of the most basic cognitive functions. An important constraint is that the number of steps taken by the algorithms, the number of neuroids needed, and the interconnectivity among them that is assumed, should all be biologically plausible. We study a class of functions, that we call {\it random access tasks,} that test these constraints most severely. These functions are characterized as those that, at each invocation, may potentially access any item already stored in memory. The class includes the tasks of memorizing a new item that is related to previously memorized ones, forming an association between two items, and inductive learning. More complex functions, such as those involving relational information, or those that formalize simple reasoning processes are also studied. It is emphasized that all these functions have to be supported compatibly in a single system, so that a long sequence of interactions with the world will result in the accumulation of competence by the system.
The material to be described is from a monograph {\it Circuits of the Mind,} Oxford University Press, November 1994.