The computational properties of neural systems are often thought to be
implemented in terms of their network dynamics. Hence, recovering the system
dynamics from experimentally observed neuronal time series, like multiple
single-unit (MSU) recordings or neuroimaging data, is an important step toward
understanding its computations. Ideally, one would not only seek a state space
representation of the dynamics, but would wish to have access to its governing
equations for in-depth analysis. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are a
computationally powerful and dynamically universal formal framework which has
been extensively studied from both the computational and the dynamical systems
perspective. Here we develop a semi-analytical maximum-likelihood estimation
scheme for piecewise-linear RNNs (PLRNNs) within the statistical framework of
state space models, which accounts for noise in both the underlying latent
dynamics and the observation process. The Expectation-Maximization algorithm is
used to infer the latent state distribution, through a global Laplace
approximation, and the PLRNN parameters iteratively. After validating the
procedure on toy examples, the approach is applied to MSU recordings from the
rodent anterior cingulate cortex obtained during performance of a classical
working memory task, delayed alternation. A model with 5 states turned out to
be sufficient to capture the essential computational dynamics underlying task
performance, including stimulus-selective delay activity. The estimated models
were rarely multi-stable, but rather were tuned to exhibit slow dynamics in the
vicinity of a bifurcation point. In summary, the present work advances a
semi-analytical (thus reasonably fast) maximum-likelihood estimation framework
for PLRNNs that may enable to recover the relevant dynamics underlying observed
neuronal time series, and directly link them to computational properties