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Bayesian inference in ring attractor networks

delete2023-02-22
delete10
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OA
AI
A
Anna Kutschireiter
M
Melanie A. Basnak
R
Rachel I. Wilson
J
Jan Drugowitsch *
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2210622120delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Working memories are thought to be held in attractor networks in the brain. These attractors should keep track of the uncertainty associated with each memory, so as to weigh it properly against conflicting new evidence. However, conventional attractors do not represent uncertainty. Here, we show how uncertainty could be incorporated into an attractor, specifically a ring attractor that encodes head direction. First, we introduce a rigorous normative framework (the circular Kalman filter) for benchmarking the performance of a ring attractor under conditions of uncertainty. Next, we show that the recurrent connections within a conventional ring attractor can be retuned to match this benchmark. This allows the amplitude of network activity to grow in response to confirmatory evidence, while shrinking in response to poor-quality or strongly conflicting evidence. This Bayesian ring attractor performs near-optimal angular path integration and evidence accumulation. Indeed, we show that a Bayesian ring attractor is consistently more accurate than a conventional ring attractor. Moreover, near-optimal performance can be achieved without exact tuning of the network connections. Finally, we use large-scale connectome data to show that the network can achieve near-optimal performance even after we incorporate biological constraints. Our work demonstrates how attractors can implement a dynamic Bayesian inference algorithm in a biologically plausible manner, and it makes testable predictions with direct relevance to the head direction system as well as any neural system that tracks direction, orientation, or periodic rhythms.
Keywords:
working memory
ring attractor networks
head direction neurons
Bayesian inference
Kalman filter
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Journal

P
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IF:
9.1
Papers:
10.8W
Citations:
73.5W

Organization

H
Harvard University
Scholars:
26.5W
Papers: 22.0W
Citations: 28.7W