A Modified Spiking Neuron that Involves Derivative of the State Function at Firing Time

In usual spiking neural networks, the real world information is interpreted as spike time. A spiking neuron of the spiking neural network receives input vector of spike times, and activates a state function x(t) by increasing the time t until the value of x(t) reaches certain threshold value at a firing time t ^a . And t ^a is the output of the spiking neuron. In this paper we propose, and investigate the performance of, a modified spiking neuron, of which the output is a linear combination of the firing time t ^a and the derivative x??(t ^a ). The merit of the modified spiking neuron is shown by numerical experiments for solving some benchmark problems: The computational time of a modified spiking neuron is a little greater than that of a usual spiking neuron, but the accuracy of a modified spiking neuron is almost as good as a usual spiking neural network with a hidden layer.     

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。     

Multiple resonances with time delays and enhancement by non-Gaussian noise in Newman-Watts networks of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons

In this paper, we study the effect of time delay on the spiking activity in Newman-Watts small-world networks of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with non-Gaussian noise, and investigate how the non-Gaussian noise affects the delay-induced behaviors. It was found that, as the delay increases, the neuron spiking intermittently performs the most ordered and synchronized behavior when the delay lengths are integer multiples of the spiking periods, which shows multiple temporal resonances and spatial synchronizations, and reveals that the locking between the delay lengths and the spiking periods might be the mechanism behind the behaviors. It was also found that the delay-optimized spiking behaviors could be enhanced when non-Gaussian noise's deviation from the Gaussian noise is appropriate. These results show that time delay and non-Gaussian noise would cooperate to play more constructive and efficient roles in the information processing of neural networks.     

基于脉冲神经网络的红外目标提取

模拟生物信息处理机制,设计了一种用于红外目标提取的脉冲神经网络(SNN)。首先,利用输入层脉冲神经元将激励图像转化为脉冲序列;其次,采用中间层脉冲神经元输出脉冲的密度编码红外图像目标的轮廓像素和非目标轮廓像素;最后,根据输出层神经元输出脉冲的密度是否超过阈值提取红外目标。实验结果表明,设计的脉冲神经网络具有较好的红外目标提取性能,并且符合生物视觉信息处理机制。     

通用的不带延迟的同质脉冲神经膜系统

脉冲神经膜系统是一种膜系统中吸收了脉冲神经网络特点的新型生物计算装置,具有强大的计算能力。同质脉冲神经膜系统是指一种所有神经元具有相同规则集合的脉冲神经膜系统的变体。研究了突触上带权值和突触上不带权值的两种同质脉冲神经膜系统在不使用具有延迟的激发规则情况下的计算通用性问题,并证明了这两种不带延迟的同质脉冲神经膜系统无论是工作在产生模式下,还是工作在接收模式下都是计算通用的。解决了曾湘祥、张兴义和潘林强提出的关于不带延迟的同质脉冲神经膜系统是否具有计算通用性的公开问题。     

脉冲视觉研究进展

视频是视觉信息处理的基础概念,传统视频的帧率只有几十Hz,不能记录光的高速变化过程,成为限制机器视觉速度的天花板,其根本原因在于视频概念脱胎于胶片成像,未能发挥电子和数字技术的潜力。脉冲视觉模型通过感光器件捕获光子,累积能量达到约定阈值时产生脉冲,形成脉冲的时间越长,表明收到的光信号越弱,反之光信号越强,据此可估计任意时刻的光强,从而实现连续成像。采用普通器件,研制了比影视视频快千倍的超高速成像芯片和相机,进而基于脉冲神经网络实现了超高速目标检测、跟踪和识别,打破了机器视觉提速依赖算力线性增长的传统范式。本文从脉冲视觉模型表达视觉信息的生物学基础和物理原理出发,介绍了脉冲视觉原理的软件模拟器及其模拟真实世界光子传播的计算过程,描述了基于脉冲视觉原理的高灵敏光电传感器件及芯片的工作机理和结构设计、基于脉冲视觉的影像重建原理以及脉冲视觉信号与普通图像信号融合的计算摄像算法与计算摄像系统,介绍了基于脉冲神经网络的超高速运动目标检测、跟踪与识别,通过对比国际国内相关研究内容和发展现状,展望了脉冲视觉的发展与演进方向。脉冲视觉芯片和系统在工业(高铁、电力和轮机等不停机监测,智能制造高速监视等)、民用(高速相机、智能交通、辅助驾驶、司法取证和体育判罚等)以及国防(高速对抗)等领域都具有巨大应用潜力,是未来值得重点关注和研究的一个重要方向。     

On computing Boolean functions by a spiking neuron

Computations by spiking neurons are performed using the timing of action potentials. We investigate the computational power of a simple model for such a spiking neuron in the Boolean domain by comparing it with traditional neuron models such as threshold gates (or McCulloch–Pitts neurons) and sigma-pi units (or polynomial threshold gates). In particular, we estimate the number of gates required to simulate a spiking neuron by a disjunction of threshold gates and we establish tight bounds for this threshold number. Furthermore, we analyze the degree of the polynomials that a sigma-pi unit must use for the simulation of a spiking neuron. We show that this degree cannot be bounded by any fixed value. Our results give evidence that the use of continuous time as a computational resource endows single-cell models with substantially larger computational capabilities. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

脉冲神经元的信息处理

介绍累积放电脉冲神经元的数学描述;讨论脉冲神经元如何将激励信号转化为脉冲序列;讨论脉冲神经元如何将输入脉冲序列转化为输出脉冲序列。实验结果表明脉冲神经元具有很好的信息表示能力、信号鉴别能力和图像信号重构能力。给出利用脉冲神经网络进行图像信号处理的方法。     

Spiking neural P systems with neuron division and budding

Spiking neural P systems are a class of distributed and parallel computing models inspired by spiking neurons.In this work,the features of neuron division and neuron budding are introduced into the framework of spiking neural P systems,which are processes inspired by neural stem cell division. With neuron division and neuron budding,a spiking neural P system can generate exponential work space in polynomial time as the case for P systems with active membranes.In this way,spiking neural P systems can efficie...     

Classification of motor imagery electroencephalography signals using spiking neurons with different input encoding strategies

Motor imagery-based brain–computer interfaces decode users’ intentions from the electroencephalogram; however, poor spatial resolution makes automatic recognition of these intentions a challenging task. New classification approaches with low computational costs and high classification performances need to be developed in order to increase the number of users benefitted by these systems. On the other hand, spiking neuron models, which are mathematical abstractions of real neurons, have shown good performances in several classification tasks, making these models suitable for motor imagery classification. In this work, two different encoding strategies for spiking neuron models, applied to the classification of motor imagery time–frequency features of stroke patients and healthy subjects, were evaluated. Classification performances and computational costs of spiking neuron models were compared against those of linear discriminant analysis, support vector machines and artificial neural networks. Results showed that a time-varying encoding strategy is more suitable for motor imagery classification, and its implementation computational cost is low. Therefore, a spiking neuron model with a time-varying encoding strategy could increase the number of potential users of brain–computer interfaces.

     

Action Recognition Using a Bio-Inspired Feedforward Spiking Network

We propose a bio-inspired feedforward spiking network modeling two brain areas dedicated to motion (V1 and MT), and we show how the spiking output can be exploited in a computer vision application: action recognition. In order to analyze spike trains, we consider two characteristics of the neural code: mean firing rate of each neuron and synchrony between neurons. Interestingly, we show that they carry some relevant information for the action recognition application. We compare our results to Jhuang et al. (Proceedings of the 11th international conference on computer vision, pp. 1–8, 2007) on the Weizmann database. As a conclusion, we are convinced that spiking networks represent a powerful alternative framework for real vision applications that will benefit from recent advances in computational neuroscience.     

多核并行脉冲神经网络模拟器的设计

脉冲神经网络属于第三代人工神经网络,它是更具有生物可解释性的神经网络模型。随着人们对脉冲神经网络不断深入地研究,不仅神经元空间结构更为复杂,而且神经网络结构规模也随之增大。以串行计算的方式,难以在个人计算机上实现脉冲神经网络的模拟仿真。为此,设计了一个多核并行的脉冲神经网络模拟器,对神经元进行编码与映射,自定义路由表解决了多核间的网络通信,以时间驱动为策略,实现核与核间的动态同步,在模拟器上进行脉冲神经网络的并行计算。以Izhikevich脉冲神经元为模型,在模拟环境下进行仿真实验,结果表明多核并行计算相比传统的串行计算在效率方面约有两倍的提升,可为类似的脉冲神经网络的模拟并行化设计提供参考。     

On languages generated by asynchronous spiking neural P systems

In this paper, we investigate the languages generated by asynchronous spiking neural P systems. Characterizations of finite languages and recursively enumerable languages are obtained by asynchronous spiking neural P systems with extended rules. The relationships of the languages generated by asynchronous spiking neural P systems with regular and non-semilinear languages are also investigated.     

Spiking神经元输入脉冲扰动敏感性研究

脉冲神经网络是一种基于生物的网络模型,它的输入输出为具有时间特性的脉冲序列,其运行机制相比其他传统人工神经网络更加接近于生物神经网络。神经元之间通过脉冲序列传递信息,这些信息通过脉冲的激发时间编码能够更有效地发挥网络的学习性能。脉冲神经元的时间特性导致了其工作机制较为复杂,而spiking神经元的敏感性反映了当神经元输入发生扰动时输出的spike的变化情况,可以作为研究神经元内部工作机制的工具。不同于传统的神经网络,spiking神经元敏感性定义为输出脉冲的变化时刻个数与运行时间长度的比值,能直接反映出输入扰动对输出的影响程度。通过对不同形式的输入扰动敏感性的分析,可以看出spiking神经元的敏感性较为复杂,当全体突触发生扰动时,神经元为定值,而当部分突触发生扰动时,不同突触的扰动会导致不同大小的神经元敏感性。     

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。     

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.     

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.     

单房室脉冲神经元建模方法综述

要通过人工神经网络来模拟神经系统的功能并对实际问题进行求解,构建合适的脉冲神经元模型非常重要。为了使研究者了解此问题的研究进展,对目前的单房室脉冲神经元建模方法进行了综述。根据复杂程度将这些模型分为三类:具有生物可解释性的生理模型,具有脉冲生成机制的非线性模型和具有固定阈值的线性模型。对各类不同建模方法进行了阐述和分析,并讨论了各自的优缺点。