VSAONLINE-10. Webinar starts in 45 minutes
Evgeny Osipov
Dear all,
This is a reminder about todays ‘ talk on VSAONLINE by Madeleine Bartlet from University of Waterloo, Canada as per details below.
See you in 45 minutes online!
Regards,
Evgeny
Date: April 21, 2025
Time: 20:00 GMT
Zoom: https://ltu-se.zoom.us/j/65564790287
Title: Using Vector Symbolic Architectures for Distributed Action Representations in a Spiking Model of the Basal Ganglia.
Abstract:
Existing models of the basal ganglia assume the existence of separate channels of neuron populations for representing each available action. This type of localist mapping limits models to small, discrete action spaces, since additional actions require additional channels, costing neural resources and imposing new connective tracts. In contrast, evidence suggests that the basal ganglia plays a role in the selection of both discrete action units, and continuously-valued action kinematics. In this work, we model the basal ganglia with distributed action representations, using high-dimensional vectors. This method lends itself to representing both discrete and continuous action spaces. Vectors that represent actions are weighted by a scalar value (their salience to the current task), and bundled together to form a single input vector. This paper provides an overview of the encoding method and network structure, as well as a demonstration of the model solving an action selection task using spiking neurons.
Kind regards,
Evgeny