Force Learning in Balanced Cortical E-I Networks

Force learning is a learning method for generating various types of complex dynamics in recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which is related to the reservoir computing (RC). RC uses an RNN called reservoir whose synaptic weights are randomly generated and fixed during learning. Force learning trains these synaptic weights inside the reservoir networks. Although force learning can be used as an effective tool for machine learning, possibilities of its realization in the brain are not often discussed. Here, in order to consider the possibilities of its realization in the brain, force learning is applied to an excitatory and inhibitory (E-I) network that models the cerebral cortex. A multimodule network composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons is defined, and a readout is put outside, similar to a conventional reservoir. The output of this network is calculated at the readout as a linear combination of the filtered average firing rates of the excitatory neurons in the modules. Feedback connections that provide output back to the excitatory neurons in the modules with random strength are also added to this network. This network typically shows transitive chaotic synchronization, in which synchronizing modules are rearranged chaotically and intermittently. Under such conditions, our E-I network is trained to generate sinusoidal periodic signals for simplicity with force learning. When adjusting the E-I activity, it is observed that the efficiency of force learning is maximized at an optimal E-I balance near an edge of chaos. These results imply that the cooperation of excitatory and inhibitory neurons is required when force learning works effectively in the brain, although usual reservoir networks don't distinguish these two kinds of neurons.