Activation signals add to the input of the neighbor. Inhibition signals subtract from the input of the neighbor. The neuron performs a mathematical function on the sum of its inputs. The neuron sends the result of its calculation as its signal to its neighbors. In connectionist theory, thoughts are stable patterns of neural activity, and learning consists of changes in those stable patterns.
Tasks consist of a multiplicity of decision points.
If each decision point has few outcomes, but the tasks consists of many decision points, the task is said to be tall and narrow. If each decision point has many outcomes, but the task has few decision points, the task is said to be broad and shallow. The structure of a task is called a decision tree because a diagram of the task resembles the branches of a tree. In this view, complex tasks are those whose decision tree is broad and tall.