New method improves neural spike train models by minimizing divergence directly, leading to better performance.
problem Poor performance and divergence issues in spike train models using maximum likelihood estimation.
method Directly minimize maximum mean discrepancy using spike train kernels and stochastic optimization.
result The proposed method generates well-behaved models with better control over feature trade-offs.
Framework for training stochastic spiking neural networks with rough signals.
problem Training stochastic spiking neural networks with noisy spike timing and dynamics.
method Rough path theory and signature kernels for gradient computation.
result Pathwise gradients of SSNNs' trajectories and event times exist and satisfy a recursive relation.
A new method discovers equations from data using Bayesian and kernel techniques.
problem Discovering equations from data is hard due to sparsity and noise.
method Kernel regression for function estimation and Bayesian spike-and-slab prior for uncertainty quantification.
result KBASS method outperforms state-of-the-art methods on benchmark tasks.
cvHM framework speeds up GP inference for neural spike train analysis.
problem Scalability issue in approximate inference for latent GP models.
method cvHM framework using Hida-Matérn kernels and conjugate computation variational inference (CVI).
result Linear time inference for latent neural trajectories.
The paper explains spikes in training loss as catapults, improving feature learning and generalization.
problem Understanding and improving the training process of neural networks.
method Analysis of training loss spikes in SGD, empirical evidence of catapults, and demonstration of AGOP alignment.
result Catapults in training loss promote feature learning and better generalization.
This work investigates how gradient-based learning performs with structured data, revealing issues and improvements.
problem Gradient-based learning under structured data, particularly with a spiked covariance structure.
method Investigates the effect of a spiked covariance structure on gradient-based feature learning and proposes weight normalization.
result Gradient-based dynamics may fail to recover the true direction in anisotropic settings, but weight normalization can improve performance.
T2FSNN improves deep SNNs by reducing spikes and latency.
problem Inefficiency in spiking neural networks due to lack of scalable training algorithms.
method Introduces time-to-first-spike coding with kernel-based dynamic threshold and dendrite, combined with gradient-based optimization and early firing methods.
result Reduces inference latency and spike count by 22% and less than 1% compared to burst coding.
The recent discovered spatial-temporal information processing capability of bio-inspired Spiking neural networks (SNN) has enabled some interesting models and applications. However designing large-scale and high-performance model is yet a challenge due to the lack of robust training algorithms. A bio-plausible SNN mode…
The paper reveals low-rank structure in neural network gradients, influenced by data and model parameters.
problem Investigating low-rank structure in gradients of neural networks under relaxed assumptions.
method Spiked data model, relaxation of isotropy assumptions, analysis of mean-field and neural-tangent-kernel scalings.
result Gradient of input weights is approximately low rank, dominated by two rank-one terms.
Neurons perform computations, and convey the results of those computations through the statistical structure of their output spike trains. Here we present a practical method, grounded in the information-theoretic analysis of prediction, for inferring a minimal representation of that structure and for characterizing its…
Developing electrophysiological recordings of brain neuronal activity and their analysis provide a basis for exploring the structure of brain function and nervous system investigation. The recorded signals are typically a combination of spikes and noise. High amounts of background noise and possibility of electric sign…
Study eigenvalues and eigenvectors in neural networks, focusing on signal propagation.
problem Characterize signal eigenvalues and eigenvectors in neural networks.
method Characterizes signal eigenvalues and eigenvectors for a nonlinear spiked covariance model.
result Provides precise quantitative characterizations of signal eigenvalues and eigenvectors in neural networks.
A fast and scalable method for variable selection in high-dimensional Gaussian processes.
problem Inefficient variable selection in high-dimensional Gaussian processes.
method Developed a fast and scalable variational inference algorithm for spike and slab Gaussian processes.
result Consistently outperforms vanilla and sparse variational GPs while retaining similar runtimes.
Spiking neural networks (SNNs) have garnered a great amount of interest for supervised and unsupervised learning applications. This paper deals with the problem of training multi-layer feedforward SNNs. The non-linear integrate-and-fire dynamics employed by spiking neurons make it difficult to train SNNs to generate de…
Third-generation neural networks, or Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs), aim at harnessing the energy efficiency of spike-domain processing by building on computing elements that operate on, and exchange, spikes. In this paper, the problem of training a two-layer SNN is studied for the purpose of classification, under a Ge…
SNNs can represent complex functions efficiently.
problem Understanding the representational power of SNNs.
method Viewed as sequence-to-sequence processors, analyzed using spike train functions.
result SNNs have the universal representation property for certain functions.
Gradient descent reshapes the function space of neural networks.
problem Understanding how feature learning affects the function space of neural networks.
method Characterized the evolution of the feature space during training using a two-layer neural network.
result Gradient descent induces a data-adaptive deformation that selectively enhances signal-aligned directions.
A hybrid training method reduces SNN training time and complexity.
problem Training deep SNNs is computationally expensive and time-consuming.
method Hybrid training technique combining initialization from converted SNNs and incremental spike-timing dependent backpropagation (STDB).
result The method converges in less than 20 epochs, reducing training complexity and time.
SparseProp speeds up SNN simulations and training by four orders of magnitude.
problem Efficiently simulating and training large spiking neural networks.
method Event-based algorithm that reduces computational cost from O(N) to O(log(N)) per spike.
result Numerically exact simulations of large spiking networks and efficient training using backpropagation.
Unified framework for training SNNs using EP, faster convergence.
problem Training spiking neural networks with Expectation-Propagation.
method Message-passing framework for learning marginal distributions of SNN parameters.
result Faster convergence compared to gradient-based methods.
On-chip edge intelligence has necessitated the exploration of algorithmic techniques to reduce the compute requirements of current machine learning frameworks. This work aims to bridge the recent algorithmic progress in training Binary Neural Networks and Spiking Neural Networks - both of which are driven by the same m…
SNNs enhance high-frequency price spike forecasting in HFT environments.
problem Conventional financial models fail to capture fine temporal structure in high-frequency price spikes.
method Application of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) with hyperparameter tuning via Bayesian Optimization (BO).
result SNN models optimized with PSA achieve significantly higher cumulative returns in backtesting.
Affine spiking neural networks learn efficiently and generalize well.
problem Learning with spiking neural networks, especially with positive weights.
method Affine encoders and decoders, continuous parameter dependence, gradient-based training.
result Affine spiking neural networks can approximate shallow ReLU networks and generalize well.
T-SVM improves learning in spiking neurons by maximizing dynamical margin.
problem Finding robust solutions in spiking neuronal networks with temporal correlations.
method Introduces Temporal Support Vector Machine (T-SVM) to maximize dynamical margin.
result T-SVM enables learning of tasks requiring nonlinear spatial integration.
Spiking neural networks (SNNs) offer a promising alternative to current artificial neural networks to enable low-power event-driven neuromorphic hardware. Spike-based neuromorphic applications require processing and extracting meaningful information from spatio-temporal data, represented as series of spike trains over …
Develops a new point process model for detecting neural spike sequences.
problem Detecting sparse sequences of neural spikes in high-dimensional spike trains.
method A point process model that represents sequence occurrences as marked events in continuous time, with learnable time warping parameters.
result Demonstrates improved detection and modeling of neural spike sequences.
Model detects patterns in noisy binary data, explaining neuron activity in terms of cell assemblies.
problem Detecting structure in noisy or approximate repeats of patterns in sparse binary data.
method Probabilistic binary latent variable model based on Noisy-OR model, inferring sparse activity in latent variables.
result Model successfully extracts and explains latent structure in spiking neural data.
Generalizes NTK for surrogate gradient learning in neural networks.
problem Lack of theoretical foundation for surrogate gradient learning.
method Generalizes neural tangent kernel (NTK) for surrogate gradient learning (SGL).
result Surrogate gradient NTK provides a good characterization of SGL.
New method uses surrogate gradients to train efficient spiking networks on neuromorphic hardware.
problem Training high-performing spiking networks on analog neuromorphic hardware is challenging due to device mismatch and lack of efficient algorithms.
method Introduces a general in-the-loop learning framework based on surrogate gradients.
result Learning self-corrects for device mismatch, resulting in competitive spiking network performance.
Much of studies on neural computation are based on network models of static neurons that produce analog output, despite the fact that information processing in the brain is predominantly carried out by dynamic neurons that produce discrete pulses called spikes. Research in spike-based computation has been impeded by th…
The machine learning community has become increasingly interested in the energy efficiency of neural networks. The Spiking Neural Network (SNN) is a promising approach to energy-efficient computing, since its activation levels are quantized into temporally sparse, one-bit values (i.e., "spike" events), which additional…
A vast majority of computation in the brain is performed by spiking neural networks. Despite the ubiquity of such spiking, we currently lack an understanding of how biological spiking neural circuits learn and compute in-vivo, as well as how we can instantiate such capabilities in artificial spiking circuits in-silico.…
This project proposes using reinforcement learning to train spiking neural networks.
problem Training spiking neural networks using traditional methods is challenging due to the discrete nature of spikes.
method The project investigates two approaches: 1) treating each neuron as an RL agent, 2) applying the reparameterization trick.
result The project demonstrates that reinforcement learning can be applied to train spiking neural networks.
Compared with artificial neural networks (ANNs), spiking neural networks (SNNs) are promising to explore the brain-like behaviors since the spikes could encode more spatio-temporal information. Although pre-training from ANN or direct training based on backpropagation (BP) makes the supervised training of SNNs possible…
This paper explains how low-precision arithmetic causes loss spikes in deep learning models.
problem Loss spikes during long-term training of deep neural networks.
method Analyzes the impact of floating-point precision limits on gradient updates and feature means.
result Numerical Feature Inflation (NFI) explains loss spikes and rapid parameter norm growth.
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are currently being used as function approximators in many state-of-the-art Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms. Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) have been shown to drastically reduce the energy consumption of ANNs by encoding information in sparse temporal binary spike streams, hence…
DIET-SNN optimizes SNNs for faster, lower-energy image classification.
problem High inference latency and inefficient input encoding in SNNs.
method End-to-end backpropagation to optimize membrane leak and firing threshold.
result Achieves top-1 accuracy of 69% on ImageNet with 5 timesteps and 12x less compute energy.
New insights into why neural networks can overfit without interpolating data.
problem Understanding why neural networks can overfit without interpolating data in fixed dimensions.
method Analyzing the smoothness of estimators and their derivatives.
result Benign overfitting is possible with estimators that have large enough derivatives, not just in high dimensions but also in fixed dimensions.
Proposes a nonparametric approach for inferring spike train filters.
problem Modeling neuron information encoding from electrophysiological recordings.
method Gaussian process framework for joint inference of filters and hyperparameters.
result Automatic learning of filter temporal span and stimulus/history filters.
VOWEL trains WTA-SNNs for multi-valued events, overcoming resource limitations.
problem Training WTA-SNNs for multi-valued events is challenging due to non-differentiability and recurrent behavior.
method Develops a variational online local training rule (VOWEL) for WTA-SNNs using local pre- and post-synaptic information and a common reward signal.
result VOWEL outperforms conventional binary SNNs in real-world neuromorphic datasets with multi-valued events.
Stable GFlowNets prevent loss spikes and mode collapse in training.
problem Unstable training of GFlowNets leading to loss spikes and mode collapse.
method Assessed sensitivity of GFlowNet objectives, derived loss-to-TV bounds, and proposed Stable GFlowNets.
result Stable GFlowNets improve training behavior and distributional fidelity.
Classifiers trained using conventional empirical risk minimization or maximum likelihood methods are known to suffer dramatic performance degradations when tested over examples adversarially selected based on knowledge of the classifier's decision rule. Due to the prominence of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) as clas…
We introduce causal pieces to improve spiking neural networks.
problem Improving the expressiveness and trainability of spiking neural networks.
method We decompose the input domain of SNNs into causal regions, proving that the number of these regions is a measure of SNNs' approximation capabilities.
result Parameter initialisations yielding a high number of causal pieces correlate with SNN training success.
This paper analyzes generalization for linear models with spiked covariance structures.
problem Understanding the generalization performance of linear models with spiked covariance structures.
method Derives the generalization error for two simple models with spiked covariances using random matrix theory.
result The eigenvector and eigenvalue corresponding to the spike significantly influence the generalization error.
Neural coding is one of the central questions in systems neuroscience for understanding how the brain processes stimulus from the environment, moreover, it is also a cornerstone for designing algorithms of brain-machine interface, where decoding incoming stimulus is highly demanded for better performance of physical de…
Proposes a flexible MGP model for dynamic, sparse correlations.
problem Handling dynamic and sparse correlations in multivariate data.
method Non-stationary MGP with dynamic spike-and-slab prior and EM algorithm.
result Captures dynamic and sparse correlations effectively.
Neural circuits contain heterogeneous groups of neurons that differ in type, location, connectivity, and basic response properties. However, traditional methods for dimensionality reduction and clustering are ill-suited to recovering the structure underlying the organization of neural circuits. In particular, they do n…
In real world scenarios, objects are often partially occluded. This requires a robustness for object recognition against these perturbations. Convolutional networks have shown good performances in classification tasks. The learned convolutional filters seem similar to receptive fields of simple cells found in the prima…