Biologically-Inspired Spiking Actor Network with Enhanced Spatial-Temporal Dynamics and Connectivity Patterns for Efficient Deep Reinforcement Learning

Core Concepts

The proposed Biologically-Plausible Topology improved Spiking Actor Network (BPT-SAN) integrates spiking neurons with intricate spatial-temporal dynamics and network topologies featuring biologically-plausible connectivity patterns, enhancing the network's information processing capability for efficient decision-making in deep reinforcement learning.

Abstract

The content introduces the Biologically-Plausible Topology improved Spiking Actor Network (BPT-SAN) for efficient decision-making in deep reinforcement learning (DRL).
The key highlights are:

Motivation: Recent advances in neuroscience have shown that the human brain achieves efficient reward-based learning by integrating spiking neurons with spatial-temporal dynamics and network topologies with biologically-plausible connectivity patterns. This integration allows spiking neurons to efficiently combine information across and within layers, enhancing the network's information processing ability.

Approach: The BPT-SAN incorporates spiking neurons with intricate spatial-temporal dynamics and introduces intra-layer connections, enhancing spatial-temporal state representation and facilitating more precise biological simulations. It models the local nonlinearities of dendritic trees within the inter-layer connections and introduces lateral interactions between adjacent neurons in the intra-layer connections.

Hybrid Learning: The BPT-SAN is trained in conjunction with artificial critic networks using the TD3 and SAC policy-based DRL algorithms within a hybrid learning framework.

Evaluation: The BPT-SAN is comprehensively evaluated on four continuous control tasks from OpenAI Gym, including Hopper-v3, Walker2d-v3, Half-Cheetah-v3, and Ant-v3. The results show that the BPT-SAN outperforms its artificial actor network counterpart and the regular spiking actor network across all tasks.

Ablation Study: The authors conduct an ablation study to demonstrate the importance of the two key network topologies (inter-layer nonlinear dendritic trees and intra-layer lateral interactions) in enhancing the BPT-SAN's performance.

Overall, the BPT-SAN represents a significant advancement towards integrating biologically-plausible principles into deep reinforcement learning, leading to improved decision-making capabilities.

Stats

The content does not contain any explicit numerical data or metrics. It focuses on describing the proposed BPT-SAN architecture and its performance evaluation on various continuous control tasks.

Quotes

The content does not contain any striking quotes that support the key logics. It is primarily a technical description of the proposed method.

Key Insights Distilled From

Biologically-Plausible Topology Improved Spiking Actor Network for Efficient Deep Reinforcement Learning

by Duzhen Zhang... at arxiv.org 04-01-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.20163.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

What other biologically-inspired principles could be incorporated into the BPT-SAN to further enhance its performance and efficiency

To further enhance the performance and efficiency of the BPT-SAN, several other biologically-inspired principles could be incorporated. One such principle is the concept of synaptic plasticity, which mimics the ability of biological synapses to strengthen or weaken over time based on the neural activity. By integrating synaptic plasticity mechanisms like spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) into the BPT-SAN, the network can adapt and learn more efficiently from the temporal relationships between spikes. Additionally, incorporating homeostatic plasticity mechanisms to maintain the overall stability and balance of the network's activity levels could further optimize its performance. Furthermore, implementing neuromodulatory systems that regulate the network's overall state and dynamics based on internal and external factors could enhance adaptability and robustness in varying environments.

How can the BPT-SAN be extended to handle partially observable environments or tasks with sparse rewards

Extending the BPT-SAN to handle partially observable environments or tasks with sparse rewards can be achieved through the integration of memory mechanisms such as recurrent connections. By incorporating recurrent connections within the network architecture, the BPT-SAN can retain information over time, enabling it to handle sequential decision-making tasks and partially observable states more effectively. Additionally, employing attention mechanisms that focus on relevant information within the environment can help the network prioritize important cues and overcome the challenges posed by sparse rewards. By combining these memory and attention mechanisms, the BPT-SAN can improve its ability to navigate complex environments with partial observability and sparse rewards.

What are the potential implications of the BPT-SAN's enhanced spatial-temporal representation and biological plausibility for understanding the mechanisms of decision-making in the human brain

The enhanced spatial-temporal representation and biological plausibility of the BPT-SAN have significant implications for understanding the mechanisms of decision-making in the human brain. By incorporating intricate spatial-temporal dynamics and biologically-plausible connectivity patterns, the BPT-SAN mirrors the information processing capabilities of the brain, particularly in integrating spiking neurons with dendritic trees and lateral interactions. This alignment with biological principles allows for a more accurate simulation of neural processes involved in decision-making, shedding light on how the brain efficiently combines information across layers and within the same layer. The BPT-SAN's ability to capture these complex neural dynamics can provide valuable insights into the cognitive processes underlying decision-making in the human brain, potentially leading to advancements in neuroscience and artificial intelligence research.