Dendritic modulation enables multitask representation learning in hierarchical sensory processing pathways

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Abstract

Abstract While sensory representations in the brain depend on context, it remains unclear how such modulations are implemented at the biophysical level, and how processing layers further in the hierarchy can extract useful features for each possible contextual state. Here, we first demonstrate that thin dendritic branches are well suited to implementing contextual modulation of feedforward processing. Such neuron-specific modulations exploit prior knowledge, encoded in stable feedforward weights, to achieve transfer learning across contexts. In a network of biophysically realistic neuron models with context-independent feedforward weights, we show that modulatory inputs to thin dendrites can solve linearly non-separable learning problems with a Hebbian, error-modulated learning rule. Finally, we demonstrate that local prediction of whether representations originate either from different inputs, or from different contextual modulations of the same input, results in representation learning of hierarchical feedforward weights across processing layers that accommodate a multitude of contexts.

Authors 7

1. Willem A. M. Wybo corresponding

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) and Institute for Neuroscience an Medicine (INM-6), Jülich Research Center, Jülich, Germany

2. Matthias C. Tsai

   University of Bern

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

3. Viet Anh Tran Aachen Department of Computer Science 3 Faculty 1 Department of Computer Science

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Computer Science - 3, Faculty 1, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) and Institute for Neuroscience an Medicine (INM-6), Jülich Research Center, Jülich, Germany

   Department of Computer Science - , Faculty 1, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

4. Bernd Illing

   École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

   Affiliation as printed

   Brain Mind Institute, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

5. Jakob Jordan

   University of Bern

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

6. Abigail Morrison Aachen Department of Computer Science 3 Faculty 1 Department of Computer Science

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Computer Science - 3, Faculty 1, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) and Institute for Neuroscience an Medicine (INM-6), Jülich Research Center, Jülich, Germany

   Department of Computer Science - , Faculty 1, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

7. Walter Senn

   University of Bern

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland