5,559 research outputs found
Inference via low-dimensional couplings
We investigate the low-dimensional structure of deterministic transformations
between random variables, i.e., transport maps between probability measures. In
the context of statistics and machine learning, these transformations can be
used to couple a tractable "reference" measure (e.g., a standard Gaussian) with
a target measure of interest. Direct simulation from the desired measure can
then be achieved by pushing forward reference samples through the map. Yet
characterizing such a map---e.g., representing and evaluating it---grows
challenging in high dimensions. The central contribution of this paper is to
establish a link between the Markov properties of the target measure and the
existence of low-dimensional couplings, induced by transport maps that are
sparse and/or decomposable. Our analysis not only facilitates the construction
of transformations in high-dimensional settings, but also suggests new
inference methodologies for continuous non-Gaussian graphical models. For
instance, in the context of nonlinear state-space models, we describe new
variational algorithms for filtering, smoothing, and sequential parameter
inference. These algorithms can be understood as the natural
generalization---to the non-Gaussian case---of the square-root
Rauch-Tung-Striebel Gaussian smoother.Comment: 78 pages, 25 figure
Estimation in the partially observed stochastic Morris-Lecar neuronal model with particle filter and stochastic approximation methods
Parameter estimation in multidimensional diffusion models with only one
coordinate observed is highly relevant in many biological applications, but a
statistically difficult problem. In neuroscience, the membrane potential
evolution in single neurons can be measured at high frequency, but biophysical
realistic models have to include the unobserved dynamics of ion channels. One
such model is the stochastic Morris-Lecar model, defined by a nonlinear
two-dimensional stochastic differential equation. The coordinates are coupled,
that is, the unobserved coordinate is nonautonomous, the model exhibits
oscillations to mimic the spiking behavior, which means it is not of
gradient-type, and the measurement noise from intracellular recordings is
typically negligible. Therefore, the hidden Markov model framework is
degenerate, and available methods break down. The main contributions of this
paper are an approach to estimate in this ill-posed situation and nonasymptotic
convergence results for the method. Specifically, we propose a sequential Monte
Carlo particle filter algorithm to impute the unobserved coordinate, and then
estimate parameters maximizing a pseudo-likelihood through a stochastic version
of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm. It turns out that even the rate
scaling parameter governing the opening and closing of ion channels of the
unobserved coordinate can be reasonably estimated. An experimental data set of
intracellular recordings of the membrane potential of a spinal motoneuron of a
red-eared turtle is analyzed, and the performance is further evaluated in a
simulation study.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-AOAS729 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Sequential Monte Carlo samplers for semilinear inverse problems and application to magnetoencephalography
We discuss the use of a recent class of sequential Monte Carlo methods for
solving inverse problems characterized by a semi-linear structure, i.e. where
the data depend linearly on a subset of variables and nonlinearly on the
remaining ones. In this type of problems, under proper Gaussian assumptions one
can marginalize the linear variables. This means that the Monte Carlo procedure
needs only to be applied to the nonlinear variables, while the linear ones can
be treated analytically; as a result, the Monte Carlo variance and/or the
computational cost decrease. We use this approach to solve the inverse problem
of magnetoencephalography, with a multi-dipole model for the sources. Here,
data depend nonlinearly on the number of sources and their locations, and
depend linearly on their current vectors. The semi-analytic approach enables us
to estimate the number of dipoles and their location from a whole time-series,
rather than a single time point, while keeping a low computational cost.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure
Sequential Monte Carlo for Graphical Models
We propose a new framework for how to use sequential Monte Carlo (SMC)
algorithms for inference in probabilistic graphical models (PGM). Via a
sequential decomposition of the PGM we find a sequence of auxiliary
distributions defined on a monotonically increasing sequence of probability
spaces. By targeting these auxiliary distributions using SMC we are able to
approximate the full joint distribution defined by the PGM. One of the key
merits of the SMC sampler is that it provides an unbiased estimate of the
partition function of the model. We also show how it can be used within a
particle Markov chain Monte Carlo framework in order to construct
high-dimensional block-sampling algorithms for general PGMs
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