Probabilistic Computation in Spiking Populations

Abstract

As animals interact with their environments, they must constantly update estimates about their states. Bayesian models combine prior probabil- ities, a dynamical model and sensory evidence to update estimates op- timally. These models are consistent with the results of many diverse psychophysical studies. However, little is known about the neural rep- resentation and manipulation of such Bayesian information, particularly in populations of spiking neurons. We consider this issue, suggesting a model based on standard neural architecture and activations. We illus- trate the approach on a simple random walk example, and apply it to a sensorimotor integration task that provides a particularly compelling example of dynamic probabilistic computation.