Tailored ensembles of neural networks optimize sensitivity to stimulus statistics

24 May 2019  ·  Johannes Zierenberg, Jens Wilting, Viola Priesemann, Anna Levina ·

The dynamic range of stimulus processing in living organisms is much larger than a single neural network can explain. For a generic, tunable spiking network we derive that while the dynamic range is maximal at criticality, the interval of discriminable intensities is very similar for any network tuning due to coalescence. Compensating coalescence enables adaptation of discriminable intervals. Thus, we can tailor an ensemble of networks optimized to the distribution of stimulus intensities, e.g., extending the dynamic range arbitrarily. We discuss potential applications in machine learning.

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Disordered Systems and Neural Networks Neurons and Cognition