Относится к сборнику статей теори МВАП https://t.me/thinking_cycles
The software-based organization of this homeostatic foundation, described in the article “Principles of Emotion Formation in Artificial Living Beings” (fornit.ru/71550), along with a code implementation example (emotion_code.docx), serves as the universal basis for all living organisms, regardless of their organizational complexity.
For simple insects, this model lacks evolutionary superstructures such as higher-order "vital parameters" (e.g., “Need for Social Interaction”) and instead focuses entirely on full adaptation to environmental conditions through inherited (innate) reactions and, in ontogeny, conditioned reflexes.
Therefore, illustrating this simplest foundation—and the interaction of its adaptive life-maintenance principles—provides the clearest starting point for understanding more complex models that incorporate social mechanisms for experience transmission.
No social mechanisms of nurturing—such as those used for helpless, infantile organisms that rely on social learning—are applicable here. An insect is born with a complete set of survival reactions and adapts to specific environmental features solely through conditioned reflexes.
Example Set of Insect Vital Parameters
VitalsArr = {
Id = 1, importance = 90 // Hypoxia / Oxygen deficit
Id = 2, importance = 80 // Dehydration / Water deficit
Id = 3, importance = 70 // Overheating
Id = 4, importance = 60 // Overcooling
Id = 5, importance = 60 // Hunger (energy deficit)
Id = 6, importance = 30 // Stress (consolidation of defensive systems)
Id = 7, importance = 20 // Mating drive (sexual activity)
Id = 8, importance = 50 // Self-preservation
Id = 9, importance = 100 // Physical injury
}
This aligns with key homeostatic needs identified in entomological literature. All parameters have direct physiological correlates and trigger adaptive behavioral responses well-documented in insect studies.
For all vitals, an increase from zero (the norm) indicates worsening of the parameter.
The first five reflect needs ranked by decreasing importance, ensuring priority-driven behavioral responses to restore homeostasis.
Biological Justification and Correspondence to Data
|
Vital |
Biological Basis |
|
Hypoxia |
Insects breathe through tracheae. Blockage of spiracles (e.g., by water, pollen, parasites) or high CO₂ concentration is lethal. Many insects are sensitive to O₂/CO₂ ratios. Mosquito larvae regulate depth in water; terrestrial species avoid confined spaces. Behavior is activated to clear spiracles or exit low-O₂/high-CO₂ zones. Aquatic larvae surface for air. |
|
Dehydration |
Due to high surface-area-to-volume ratio, water loss is critical. Insects seek moisture, close spiracles (if present), and reduce activity. Stimulates water-seeking: drinking droplets, plant sap, or moist substrates. May suppress activity during hot periods to minimize water loss. |
|
Overheating / Overcooling |
Insects are ectotherms. Activity sharply declines outside thermal optimum. Behavioral thermoregulation (basking, sheltering) is well-established. Overheating triggers shade-seeking, burrowing, or nocturnal activity. Overcooling drives sun-basking, body orientation perpendicular to rays, and reduced immobility. |
|
Hunger |
A universal behavioral driver. Confirmed in foraging studies of Drosophila, wasps, ants, etc. Activates food-seeking (foraging). Target resource varies by species and life stage: nectar, foliage, chitin, blood, etc. |
|
Stress |
Generalized response to non-specific threats (vibration, sudden light, chemicals). In insects, mediated by juvenile hormone and octopamine. Defined not as subjective feeling, but as physiological/behavioral consolidation of defense systems. Triggers freezing (thanatosis), sheltering, or premature escape. Low priority—often brief and not requiring sustained behavioral programs. |
|
Mating Drive |
Regulated by pheromones and hormones (e.g., ecdysone), strictly tied to adult (imago) stage. Well-documented in butterflies, beetles, flies. Activated only when core homeostatic parameters are satisfied. Requires sexual maturity and external cues (pheromones, visual partner cues). Triggers partner search, courtship displays, copulation. |
|
Self-preservation |
Escape reflexes, freezing, camouflage. Observed in cockroaches, cicadas, ladybugs. Differs from “Stress” by being more targeted and active: fleeing, threat postures, jumping, repellent secretion. |
|
Injury |
Insects exhibit nociception (damage sensitivity), including protective movements and withdrawal. Causes immobilization to reduce hemolymph loss, wound cleaning, sheltering. May trigger compensatory feeding for hemolymph restoration. |
When a vital parameter exceeds a critical threshold, it activates a behavioral style aimed at restoring homeostasis.
This mechanism corresponds to the reflex-instinctive regulatory level in animals, including insects:
These reactions depend on perception of current environmental conditions. External stimuli (odor, thermal gradient, humidity), combined with an active vital (e.g., hunger, overheating, dehydration), refine the target of the search behavior. Thus, the refining factor can be both external sensory input and internal vital reception.
The system continuously monitors the deviation from norm (DeviationFromNorm) for each vital.
When a threshold is exceeded (DeviationFromNorm[id] < -Threshold), the vital is marked as an “active driver.”
Each active driver is rigidly linked to one or more basic behavioral contexts (BasicContexts), whose evolutionary function is to compensate for that specific deviation.
Behavior continues until:
Basic Behavioral Contexts for Insects
func getActiveBasicContexts() {
// Reset all contexts EXCEPT special ones (e.g., circadian rest)
for i = 1 to 10 {
if i == 10 // Do not reset Circadian rhythm
break
BasicContextsActived[i] = false
}
// Injury (Id=9)
if DeviationFromNorm[9] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[9] = true // Immobilization & wound care
return // Highest priority—override all else
}
// Hypoxia (Id=1)
if DeviationFromNorm[1] < -20 {
BasicContextsActived[1] = true // Ventilation
return
}
// Dehydration (Id=2)
if DeviationFromNorm[2] < -30 {
BasicContextsActived[2] = true // Water intake
return
}
// Overheating (Id=3)
if DeviationFromNorm[3] < -40 {
BasicContextsActived[3] = true // Cooling
return
}
// Overcooling (Id=4)
if DeviationFromNorm[4] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[4] = true // Warming
return
}
// In resting state, insects retain oxygen-deficit response,
// but vigilance (stress/threat reactions) may be reduced.
// Principle: during rest, suppress energy-intensive behaviors
// (e.g., locomotion), but retain automatic life-saving reflexes.
if BasicContextsActived[10] { // Rest mode active (externally triggered)
return // Suppress all non-essential activities
}
// Hunger (Id=5)
if DeviationFromNorm[5] < -60 {
BasicContextsActived[5] = true // Foraging
return
}
// Stress (Id=6)
if DeviationFromNorm[6] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[6] = true // Freezing
BasicContextsActived[8] = false // Incompatible with threat avoidance
return
}
// Mating drive (Id=7)
if DeviationFromNorm[7] < -70 {
BasicContextsActived[7] = true // Reproductive behavior
return
}
// Self-preservation (Id=8)
if DeviationFromNorm[8] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[8] = true // Threat avoidance
return
}
}
As incipient social behaviors, one could add styles typical of ants, bees, or termites:
However, this would unnecessarily complicate the model and its demonstration.
Insects lack a basic self-awareness (as seen in organisms with psyche), so they do not experience states like “Bad,” “Normal,” or “Good.”
Thus, active behavioral styles (BasicContextsActived) are triggered only when a vital exceeds a critical deviation (DeviationFromNorm is a negative percentage indicating worsening).
Although there is no “Good” state, its functional role—sustaining corrective actions until homeostasis is restored—must still be implemented: the behavior continues as long as the vital is improving.
In software models, normalization may be instantaneous upon reaction initiation, so this functionality is not strictly necessary in insect-level models.
Function to Activate Basic Behavioral Contexts
func getActiveBasicContexts() {
// Reset all contexts EXCEPT special ones (e.g., circadian rest)
for i = 1 to 10 {
if i == 10 // Do not reset Circadian rhythm
break
BasicContextsActived[i] = false
}
// Injury (Id=9)
if DeviationFromNorm[9] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[9] = true // Immobilization & wound care
return // Highest priority—override all else
}
// Hypoxia (Id=1)
if DeviationFromNorm[1] < -20 {
BasicContextsActived[1] = true // Ventilation
return
}
// Dehydration (Id=2)
if DeviationFromNorm[2] < -30 {
BasicContextsActived[2] = true // Water intake
return
}
// Overheating (Id=3)
if DeviationFromNorm[3] < -40 {
BasicContextsActived[3] = true // Cooling
return
}
// Overcooling (Id=4)
if DeviationFromNorm[4] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[4] = true // Warming
return
}
// In resting state, insects retain oxygen-deficit response,
// but vigilance (stress/threat reactions) may be reduced.
// Principle: during rest, suppress energy-intensive behaviors
// (e.g., locomotion), but retain automatic life-saving reflexes.
if BasicContextsActived[10] { // Rest mode active (externally triggered)
return // Suppress all non-essential activities
}
// Hunger (Id=5)
if DeviationFromNorm[5] < -60 {
BasicContextsActived[5] = true // Foraging
return
}
// Stress (Id=6)
if DeviationFromNorm[6] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[6] = true // Freezing
BasicContextsActived[8] = false // Incompatible with threat avoidance
return
}
// Mating drive (Id=7)
if DeviationFromNorm[7] < -70 {
BasicContextsActived[7] = true // Reproductive behavior
return
}
// Self-preservation (Id=8)
if DeviationFromNorm[8] < -50 {
BasicContextsActived[8] = true // Threat avoidance
return
}
}
This model can be implemented by any intermediate-level programmer in any convenient language, requiring minimal computational resources—even running smoothly on a low-end PC.
Avoiding neuron emulation (fornit.ru/art10) enables real-time, resource-efficient complex adaptive systems.
This is a minimalist yet complete model of reflex-instinctive behavior, aligned with both biological reality and engineering practicality.
Innate Reactions Linked to Basic Contexts
For each BasicContext, we now attach innate reactions that restore homeostasis, triggered by evolutionarily pre-programmed perceptual cues:
|
BasicContext |
Perceptual Cue |
Innate Reaction |
|
id=1 Ventilation |
Spiracle blockage (pressure/humidity sensors) |
Body shaking, leg cleaning, move to airflow |
|
id=2 Water intake |
Wet surface, water droplets (hydrosensors) |
Approach, drink, cuticular absorption |
|
id=3 Cooling |
High temperature, bright light |
Move to shade, burrow, align body parallel to sun |
|
id=4 Warming |
Low temperature |
Seek sun patch, wing vibration (thermogenesis) |
|
id=5 Foraging |
Smell of nectar/decay/pheromones (chemoreceptors) |
Approach, sample, consume |
|
id=6 Freezing |
Shadow, vibration, sudden sound |
Complete immobility (thanatosis) for 10–60 sec |
|
id=7 Mating |
Partner pheromone, visual image |
Approach, courtship display, copulation |
|
id=8 Avoidance |
Moving threat, alarm pheromone |
Flee, jump, take shelter |
|
id=9 Immobilization |
Cuticle rupture, hemolymph loss |
Curl up, clean wound, suppress movement |
|
id=10 Rest |
Time of day (internal clock) |
Cease activity, except vital reflexes |
These reactions are hard-coded and do not require learning.
Ontogenetic Development: Conditioned Reflexes
To account for individual environmental adaptation during ontogeny, a conditioned reflex structure and its activation function must be added.
See the example implementation in the base model: emotion_code_insects_e.docx