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288 pp. per issue, 6 x 9,
illustrated
Founded: 1989
ISSN 0899-7667
E-ISSN 1530-888X
2008 ISI Impact Factor: 2.378

Neural Computation

April 2005, Vol. 17, No. 4, Pages 839-858
Posted Online March 13, 2006.
(doi:10.1162/0899766053429426)
© 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Difficulty of Singularity in Population Coding

Shun-ichi Amari

Laboratory for Mathematical Neuroscience, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan

Hiroyuki Nakahara

Laboratory for Mathematical Neuroscience, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan

PDF (137.496 KB) PDF Plus (174.707 KB)

Fisher information has been used to analyze the accuracy of neural population coding. This works well when the Fisher information does not degenerate, but when two stimuli are presented to a population of neurons, a singular structure emerges by their mutual interactions. In this case, the Fisher information matrix degenerates, and the regularity condition ensuring the Cramér-Rao paradigm of statistics is violated. An animal shows pathological behavior in such a situation. We present a novel method of statistical analysis to understand information in population coding in which algebraic singularity plays a major role. The method elucidates the nature of the pathological case by calculating the Fisher information. We then suggest that synchronous firing can resolve singularity and show a method of analyzing the binding problem in terms of the Fisher information. Our method integrates a variety of disciplines in population coding, such as nonregular statistics, Bayesian statistics, singularity in algebraic geometry, and synchronous firing, under the theme of Fisher information.

Cited by

Haikun Wei, Jun Zhang, Florent Cousseau, Tomoko Ozeki, Shun-ichi Amari. (2008) Dynamics of Learning Near Singularities in Layered Networks. Neural Computation 20:3, 813-843
Online publication date: 1-Mar-2008.
Abstract | PDF (570 KB) | PDF Plus (579 KB) 
Shun-ichi Amari, Hyeyoung Park, Tomoko Ozeki. (2006) Singularities Affect Dynamics of Learning in Neuromanifolds. Neural Computation 18:5, 1007-1065
Online publication date: 1-May-2006.
Abstract | PDF (594 KB) | PDF Plus (633 KB) 

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