binding problem

binding problem

the theoretical issue of how the brain perceives and represents different features, or conjunctions of properties, as one object or event. This is problematic because different attributes of a stimulus (e.g., hue, form, spatial location, motion) are analyzed by different areas of the cerebral cortex and yet are experienced in consciousness as a unity; the binding problem is relevant in all areas of knowledge representation, including such complex cognitive representations as theory of mind.