117 research outputs found
Event-Driven Contrastive Divergence for Spiking Neuromorphic Systems
Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs) and Deep Belief Networks have been
demonstrated to perform efficiently in a variety of applications, such as
dimensionality reduction, feature learning, and classification. Their
implementation on neuromorphic hardware platforms emulating large-scale
networks of spiking neurons can have significant advantages from the
perspectives of scalability, power dissipation and real-time interfacing with
the environment. However the traditional RBM architecture and the commonly used
training algorithm known as Contrastive Divergence (CD) are based on discrete
updates and exact arithmetics which do not directly map onto a dynamical neural
substrate. Here, we present an event-driven variation of CD to train a RBM
constructed with Integrate & Fire (I&F) neurons, that is constrained by the
limitations of existing and near future neuromorphic hardware platforms. Our
strategy is based on neural sampling, which allows us to synthesize a spiking
neural network that samples from a target Boltzmann distribution. The recurrent
activity of the network replaces the discrete steps of the CD algorithm, while
Spike Time Dependent Plasticity (STDP) carries out the weight updates in an
online, asynchronous fashion. We demonstrate our approach by training an RBM
composed of leaky I&F neurons with STDP synapses to learn a generative model of
the MNIST hand-written digit dataset, and by testing it in recognition,
generation and cue integration tasks. Our results contribute to a machine
learning-driven approach for synthesizing networks of spiking neurons capable
of carrying out practical, high-level functionality.Comment: (Under review
Stochastic Synapses Enable Efficient Brain-Inspired Learning Machines
Recent studies have shown that synaptic unreliability is a robust and
sufficient mechanism for inducing the stochasticity observed in cortex. Here,
we introduce Synaptic Sampling Machines, a class of neural network models that
uses synaptic stochasticity as a means to Monte Carlo sampling and unsupervised
learning. Similar to the original formulation of Boltzmann machines, these
models can be viewed as a stochastic counterpart of Hopfield networks, but
where stochasticity is induced by a random mask over the connections. Synaptic
stochasticity plays the dual role of an efficient mechanism for sampling, and a
regularizer during learning akin to DropConnect. A local synaptic plasticity
rule implementing an event-driven form of contrastive divergence enables the
learning of generative models in an on-line fashion. Synaptic sampling machines
perform equally well using discrete-timed artificial units (as in Hopfield
networks) or continuous-timed leaky integrate & fire neurons. The learned
representations are remarkably sparse and robust to reductions in bit precision
and synapse pruning: removal of more than 75% of the weakest connections
followed by cursory re-learning causes a negligible performance loss on
benchmark classification tasks. The spiking neuron-based synaptic sampling
machines outperform existing spike-based unsupervised learners, while
potentially offering substantial advantages in terms of power and complexity,
and are thus promising models for on-line learning in brain-inspired hardware
Spiking Neural Networks for Inference and Learning: A Memristor-based Design Perspective
On metrics of density and power efficiency, neuromorphic technologies have
the potential to surpass mainstream computing technologies in tasks where
real-time functionality, adaptability, and autonomy are essential. While
algorithmic advances in neuromorphic computing are proceeding successfully, the
potential of memristors to improve neuromorphic computing have not yet born
fruit, primarily because they are often used as a drop-in replacement to
conventional memory. However, interdisciplinary approaches anchored in machine
learning theory suggest that multifactor plasticity rules matching neural and
synaptic dynamics to the device capabilities can take better advantage of
memristor dynamics and its stochasticity. Furthermore, such plasticity rules
generally show much higher performance than that of classical Spike Time
Dependent Plasticity (STDP) rules. This chapter reviews the recent development
in learning with spiking neural network models and their possible
implementation with memristor-based hardware
Contrastive Hebbian Learning with Random Feedback Weights
Neural networks are commonly trained to make predictions through learning
algorithms. Contrastive Hebbian learning, which is a powerful rule inspired by
gradient backpropagation, is based on Hebb's rule and the contrastive
divergence algorithm. It operates in two phases, the forward (or free) phase,
where the data are fed to the network, and a backward (or clamped) phase, where
the target signals are clamped to the output layer of the network and the
feedback signals are transformed through the transpose synaptic weight
matrices. This implies symmetries at the synaptic level, for which there is no
evidence in the brain. In this work, we propose a new variant of the algorithm,
called random contrastive Hebbian learning, which does not rely on any synaptic
weights symmetries. Instead, it uses random matrices to transform the feedback
signals during the clamped phase, and the neural dynamics are described by
first order non-linear differential equations. The algorithm is experimentally
verified by solving a Boolean logic task, classification tasks (handwritten
digits and letters), and an autoencoding task. This article also shows how the
parameters affect learning, especially the random matrices. We use the
pseudospectra analysis to investigate further how random matrices impact the
learning process. Finally, we discuss the biological plausibility of the
proposed algorithm, and how it can give rise to better computational models for
learning
Gibbs Sampling with Low-Power Spiking Digital Neurons
Restricted Boltzmann Machines and Deep Belief Networks have been successfully
used in a wide variety of applications including image classification and
speech recognition. Inference and learning in these algorithms uses a Markov
Chain Monte Carlo procedure called Gibbs sampling. A sigmoidal function forms
the kernel of this sampler which can be realized from the firing statistics of
noisy integrate-and-fire neurons on a neuromorphic VLSI substrate. This paper
demonstrates such an implementation on an array of digital spiking neurons with
stochastic leak and threshold properties for inference tasks and presents some
key performance metrics for such a hardware-based sampler in both the
generative and discriminative contexts.Comment: Accepted at ISCAS 201
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