脉冲神经网络:模型、学习算法与应用

脉冲神经网络是目前最具有生物解释性的人工神经网络,是类脑智能领域的核心组成部分.首先介绍各类常用的脉冲神经元模型以及前馈和循环型脉冲神经网络结构;然后介绍脉冲神经网络的时间编码方式,在此基础上,系统地介绍脉冲神经网络的学习算法,包括无监督学习和监督学习算法,其中监督学习算法按照梯度下降算法、结合STDP规则的算法和基于脉冲序列卷积核的算法3大类别分别展开详细介绍和总结;接着列举脉冲神经网络在控制领域、模式识别领域和类脑智能研究领域的应用,并在此基础上介绍各国脑计划中,脉冲神经网络与神经形态处理器相结合的案例;最后分析脉冲神经网络目前所存在的困难和挑战.     

面向图像识别的多层脉冲神经网络学习算法综述

相较于第1代和第2代神经网络,第3代神经网络的脉冲神经网络是一种更加接近于生物神经网络的模型,因此更具有生物可解释性和低功耗性。基于脉冲神经元模型,脉冲神经网络可以通过脉冲信号的形式模拟生物信号在神经网络中的传播,通过脉冲神经元的膜电位变化来发放脉冲序列,脉冲序列通过时空联合表达不仅传递了空间信息还传递了时间信息。当前面向模式识别任务的脉冲神经网络模型性能还不及深度学习,其中一个重要原因在于脉冲神经网络的学习方法不成熟,深度学习中神经网络的人工神经元是基于实数形式的输出,这使得其可以使用全局性的反向传播算法对深度神经网络的参数进行训练,脉冲序列是二值性的离散输出,这直接导致对脉冲神经网络的训练存在一定困难,如何对脉冲神经网络进行高效训练是一个具有挑战的研究问题。本文首先总结了脉冲神经网络研究领域中的相关学习算法,然后对其中主要的方法:直接监督学习、无监督学习的算法以及ANN2SNN的转换算法进行分析介绍,并对其中代表性的工作进行对比分析,最后基于对当前主流方法的总结,对未来更高效、更仿生的脉冲神经网络参数学习方法进行展望。     

多媒体技术研究:2015——类脑计算的研究进展与发展趋势

目的 类脑计算,是指仿真、模拟和借鉴大脑神经网络结构和信息处理过程的装置、模型和方法,其目标是制造类脑计算机和类脑智能。方法 类脑计算相关研究已经有20多年的历史,本文从模拟生物神经元和神经突触的神经形态器件、神经网络芯片、类脑计算模型与应用等方面对国内外研究进展和面临的挑战进行介绍,并对未来的发展趋势进行展望。结果 与经典人工智能符号主义、连接主义、行为主义以及机器学习的统计主义这些技术路线不同,类脑计算采取仿真主义：结构层次模仿脑（非冯·诺依曼体系结构）,器件层次逼近脑（模拟神经元和神经突触的神经形态器件）,智能层次超越脑（主要靠自主学习训练而不是人工编程）。结论 目前类脑计算离工业界实际应用还有较大差距,这也为研究者提供了重要研究方向与机遇。     

类脑计算脉冲神经网络模型及其学习算法研究进展

深度神经网络在实际应用中的局限性日益凸显，具备生物可解释性的类脑计算脉冲神经网络成为了人们研究的热点课题。应用场景的不确定性及复杂多样性给研究者提出了新的挑战，要求类似生物大脑组织具备多尺度架构的类脑计算脉冲神经网络，能够实现对多模态、不确定性信息的感知决策功能。文中主要介绍了多尺度生物合理性的类脑计算脉冲神经网络模型及其面向多模态信息表征和不确定信息感知的学习算法，并分析探讨了基于忆阻器互联的脉冲神经网络可实现多尺度架构类脑计算的两个关键技术问题，即多模态、不确定信息与脉冲时序表示一致性问题和多尺度脉冲神经网络学习算法与容错计算问题。最后，对类脑计算脉冲神经网络的研究方向进行了分析与展望。     

融合深度学习和聚类分析的自适应图像聚类

针对卷积神经网络应用于图像分类任务时需要大量有标签数据的问题,提出一种融合卷积神经网络和聚类分析的无监督分类模型,将无监督算法引入深度学习,并将该模型应用到图像分类领域,来弥补现有分类方式的不足.首先对经典卷积神经网络AlexNet从网络结构和模型训练两个方面进行优化;然后利用改进后的自适应快速峰值聚类算法指导聚类过程...     

仿生型脉冲神经网络学习算法和网络模型

为解决脉冲神经网络训练困难的问题,基于仿生学思路,提出脉冲神经网络的权值学习算法和结构学习算法,设计一种含有卷积结构的脉冲神经网络模型,搭建适合脉冲神经网络的软件仿真平台。实验结果表明,权值学习算法训练的网络对MNIST数据集识别准确率能够达到84.12%,具备良好的快速收敛能力和低功耗特点;结构学习算法能够自动生成网络结构,具有高度生物相似性。     

基于快速密度聚类的RBF神经网络设计

针对径向基函数（radial basis function,RBF）神经网络隐含层结构难以确定的问题,提出一种基于快速密度聚类的网络结构设计算法。该算法将快速密度聚类算法良好的聚类特性用于RBF神经网络结构设计中,通过寻找密度最大的点并将其作为隐含层神经元,进而确定隐含层神经元个数和初始参数;同时,引入高斯函数的特性,保证了每个隐含层神经元的活性;最后,用一种改进的二阶算法对神经网络进行训练,提高了神经网络的收敛速度和泛化能力。利用典型非线性函数逼近和非线性动态系统辨识实验进行仿真验证,结果表明,基于快速密度聚类设计的RBF神经网络具有紧凑的网络结构、快速的学习能力和良好的泛化能力。     

脉冲神经网络研究进展综述

近年来,起源于计算神经科学的脉冲神经网络因其具有丰富的时空动力学特征、多样的编码机制、契合硬件的事件驱动特性等优势,在神经形态工程和类脑计算领域已得到广泛的关注.脉冲神经网络与当前计算机科学导向的以深度卷积网络为代表的人工神经网络的交叉融合被认为是发展人工通用智能的有力途径.对此,回顾了脉冲神经网络的发展历程,将其划分为神经元模型、训练算法、编程框架、数据集以及硬件芯片等5个重点方向,全方位介绍脉冲神经网络的最新进展和内涵,讨论并分析了脉冲神经网络领域各个重点方向的发展机遇和挑战.希望本综述能够吸引不同学科的研究者,通过跨学科的思想交流与合作研究,推动脉冲神经网络领域的发展.     

基于卷积计算的多层脉冲神经网络的监督学习

针对脉冲神经元基于精确定时的多脉冲编码信息的特点,提出了一种基于卷积计算的多层脉冲神经网络监督学习的新算法。该算法应用核函数的卷积计算将离散的脉冲序列转换为连续函数,在多层前馈脉冲神经网络结构中,使用梯度下降的方法得到基于核函数卷积表示的学习规则,并用来调整神经元连接的突触权值。在实验部分,首先验证了该算法学习脉冲序列的效果,然后应用该算法对Iris数据集进行分类。结果显示,该算法能够实现脉冲序列复杂时空模式的学习,对非线性模式分类问题具有较高的分类正确率。     

进化神经网络的编码方法与应用

进化神经网络将进化算法与人工神经网络进行了有机结合,进化算法的参与使神经网络系统在进化发育过程中可自适应的进行网络结构与连接权值的调整,改善了神经网络在模拟仿真过程中自主智能化不足的缺陷,提高了神经网络系统的生物真实性。随着研究的深入,大量不同类型的进化神经网络相继出现,根据基因编码方式的不同,可将进化神经网络分为直接编码型和间接编码型两类。本文对神经网络中基因的编码方式进行了阐述分析,最后总结了间接编码方法的应用领域。     

基于多层忆阻脉冲神经网络的强化学习及应用

人工神经网络（Artificial neural networks,ANNs）与强化学习算法的结合显著增强了智能体的学习能力和效率.然而,这些算法需要消耗大量的计算资源,且难以硬件实现.而脉冲神经网络（Spiking neural networks,SNNs）使用脉冲信号来传递信息,具有能量效率高、仿生特性强等特点,且有利于进一步实现强化学习的硬件加速,增强嵌入式智能体的自主学习能力.不过,目前脉冲神经网络的学习和训练过程较为复杂,网络设计和实现方面存在较大挑战.本文通过引入人工突触的理想实现元件——忆阻器,提出了一种硬件友好的基于多层忆阻脉冲神经网络的强化学习算法.特别地,设计了用于数据——脉冲转换的脉冲神经元;通过改进脉冲时间依赖可塑性（Spiking-timing dependent plasticity,STDP）规则,使脉冲神经网络与强化学习算法有机结合,并设计了对应的忆阻神经突触;构建了可动态调整的网络结构,以提高网络的学习效率;最后,以Open AI Gym中的CartPole-v0（倒立摆）和MountainCar-v0（小车爬坡）为例,通过实验仿真和对比分析,验证了方案的有效性和相对于传统强化学习方法的优势.     

Sailboat navigation control system based on spiking neural networks

In this paper, we presented the development of a navigation control system for a sailboat based on spiking neural networks (SNN). Our inspiration for this choice of network lies in their potential to achieve fast and low-energy computing on specialized hardware. To train our system, we use the modulated spike time-dependent plasticity reinforcement learning rule and a simulation environment based on the BindsNET library and USVSim simulator. Our objective was to develop a spiking neural network-based control systems that can learn policies allowing sailboats to navigate between two points by following a straight line or performing tacking and gybing strategies, depending on the sailing scenario conditions. We presented the mathematical definition of the problem, the operation scheme of the simulation environment, the spiking neural network controllers, and the control strategy used. As a result, we obtained 425 SNN-based controllers that completed the proposed navigation task, indicating that the simulation environment and the implemented control strategy work effectively. Finally, we compare the behavior of our best controller with other algorithms and present some possible strategies to improve its performance.     

STDP provides the substrate for igniting synfire chains by spatiotemporal input patterns

Spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity (STDP), which depends on the temporal difference between pre- and postsynaptic action potentials, is observed in the cortices and hippocampus. Although several theoretical and experimental studies have revealed its fundamental aspects, its functional role remains unclear. To examine how an input spatiotemporal spike pattern is altered by STDP, we observed the output spike patterns of a spiking neural network model with an asymmetrical STDP rule when the input spatiotemporal pattern is repeatedly applied. The spiking neural network comprises excitatory and inhibitory neurons that exhibit local interactions. Numerical experiments show that the spiking neural network generates a single global synchrony whose relative timing depends on the input spatiotemporal pattern and the neural network structure. This result implies that the spiking neural network learns the transformation from spatiotemporal to temporal information. In the literature, the origin of the synfire chain has not been sufficiently focused on. Our results indicate that spiking neural networks with STDP can ignite synfire chains in the cortices.     

Efficient and hardware-friendly methods to implement competitive learning for spiking neural networks

Neural Computing and Applications - Spiking neural network (SNN) trained by spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is a promising computing paradigm for energy-efficient artificial intelligence...     

Quantized STDP-based online-learning spiking neural network

Neural Computing and Applications - In this work, we report a spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP)-based weight-quantized/binarized online-learning spiking neural network (SNN). The SNN uses...     

Spike pattern recognition using artificial neuron and spike-timing-dependent plasticity implemented on a multi-core embedded platform

The objective of this work is to use a multi-core embedded platform as computing architectures for neural applications relevant to neuromorphic engineering: e.g., robotics, and artificial and spiking neural networks. Recently, it has been shown how spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) can play a key role in pattern recognition. In particular, multiple repeating arbitrary spatio-temporal spike patterns hidden in spike trains can be robustly detected and learned by multiple neurons equipped with spike-timing-dependent plasticity listening to the incoming spike trains. This paper presents an implementation on a biological time scale of STDP algorithm to localize a repeating spatio-temporal spike patterns on a multi-core embedded platform.     

A novel spiking neural network of receptive field encoding with groups of neurons decision

Human information processing depends mainly on billions of neurons which constitute a complex neural network, and the information is transmitted in the form of neural spikes. In this paper, we propose a spiking neural network (SNN), named MD-SNN, with three key features: (1) using receptive field to encode spike trains from images; (2) randomly selecting partial spikes as inputs for each neuron to approach the absolute refractory period of the neuron; (3) using groups of neurons to make decisions. We test MD-SNN on the MNIST data set of handwritten digits, and results demonstrate that: (1) Different sizes of receptive fields influence classification results significantly. (2) Considering the neuronal refractory period in the SNN model, increasing the number of neurons in the learning layer could greatly reduce the training time, effectively reduce the probability of over-fitting, and improve the accuracy by 8.77%. (3) Compared with other SNN methods, MD-SNN achieves a better classification; compared with the convolution neural network, MD-SNN maintains flip and rotation invariance (the accuracy can remain at 90.44% on the test set), and it is more suitable for small sample learning (the accuracy can reach 80.15% for 1000 training samples, which is 7.8 times that of CNN).     

基于联合权重超图划分的SNN负载均衡方法

大规模脉冲神经网络并行模拟是探究大脑机能的重要手段。其难点在于合理地将负载映射到并行分布式平台上,提升模拟速度。为解决该问题,提出一种基于联合权重超图划分的SNN负载均衡方法,解决并行计算中进程间计算负载与通信负载的均衡问题,提高SNN模拟速度。并使用稀疏通信的方式替代集体通信,解决事件通信过程中的数据冗余问题,提升通信效率。实验结果表明,该方法使带有STDP突触20%规模的皮质层微电路模型的模拟时间,比标准循环分配算法缩短约64.5%,比普通超图分配算法缩短约57.4%,同时事件通信数据量减少了90%以上。     

Delay learning and polychronization for reservoir computing

We propose a multi-timescale learning rule for spiking neuron networks, in the line of the recently emerging field of reservoir computing. The reservoir is a network model of spiking neurons, with random topology and driven by STDP (spike-time-dependent plasticity), a temporal Hebbian unsupervised learning mode, biologically observed. The model is further driven by a supervised learning algorithm, based on a margin criterion, that affects the synaptic delays linking the network to the readout neurons, with classification as a goal task. The network processing and the resulting performance can be explained by the concept of polychronization, proposed by Izhikevich [Polychronization: computation with spikes, Neural Comput. 18(2) (2006) 245–282], on physiological grounds. The model emphasizes that polychronization can be used as a tool for exploiting the computational power of synaptic delays and for monitoring the topology and activity of a spiking neuron network.