  Two universal functional principles of Adaptive Resonance Theory simulate the
brain code of all biological learning and adaptive intelligence. Low level
representations of multisensory stimuli in their immediate environmental
context are formed on the basis of bottom up activation and under the control
of top down matching rules that integrate high level long term traces of
contextual configuration. These universal coding principles lead to the
establishment of lasting brain signatures of perceptual experience in all
living species, from aplysiae to primates. They are revisited in this paper
here on the basis of examples drawn from the original code and from some of the
most recent related empirical findings on contextual modulation in the brain,
highlighting the potential of Grossberg's pioneering insights and
groundbreaking theoretical work for intelligent solutions in the domain of
developmental and cognitive robotics.
