Training Spiking Neural Networks in the Strong Coupling Regime

Recurrent neural networks trained to perform complex tasks can provide insight into the dynamic mechanism that underlies computations performed by cortical circuits. However, due to a large number of unconstrained synaptic connections, the recurrent connectivity that emerges from network training may not be biologically plausible. Therefore, it remains unknown if and how biological neural circuits implement dynamic mechanisms proposed by the models. To narrow this gap, we developed a training scheme that, in addition to achieving learning goals, respects the structural and dynamic properties of a standard cortical circuit model: strongly coupled excitatory-inhibitory spiking neural networks. By preserving the strong mean excitatory and inhibitory coupling of initial networks, we found that most of trained synapses obeyed Dale's law without additional constraints, exhibited large trial-to-trial spiking variability, and operated in inhibition-stabilized regime. We derived analytical estimates on how training and network parameters constrained the changes in mean synaptic strength during training. Our results demonstrate that training recurrent neural networks subject to strong coupling constraints can result in connectivity structure and dynamic regime relevant to cortical circuits.