title: A framework for plasticity implementation on the SpiNNaker neural architecture.
abstract: Many of the precise biological mechanisms of synaptic plasticity remain elusive, but simulations of neural networks have greatly enhanced our understanding of how specific global functions arise from the massively parallel computation of neurons and local Hebbian or spike-timing dependent plasticity rules. For simulating large portions of neural tissue, this has created an increasingly strong need for large scale simulations of plastic neural networks on special purpose hardware platforms, because synaptic transmissions and updates are badly matched to computing style supported by current architectures. Because of the great diversity of biological plasticity phenomena and the corresponding diversity of models, there is a great need for testing various hypotheses about plasticity before committing to one hardware implementation. Here we present a novel framework for investigating different plasticity approaches on the SpiNNaker distributed digital neural simulation platform. The key innovation of the proposed architecture is to exploit the reconfigurability of the ARM processors inside SpiNNaker, dedicating a subset of them exclusively to process synaptic plasticity updates, while the rest perform the usual neural and synaptic simulations. We demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed approach by showing the implementation of a variety of spike- and rate-based learning rules, including standard Spike-Timing dependent plasticity (STDP), voltage-dependent STDP, and the rate-based BCM rule. We analyze their performance and validate them by running classical learning experiments in real time on a 4-chip SpiNNaker board. The result is an efficient, modular, flexible and scalable framework, which provides a valuable tool for the fast and easy exploration of learning models of very different kinds on the parallel and reconfigurable SpiNNaker system.
authors: Equipe de Vision et Calcul Naturel, Vision Institute, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Unité Mixte de Recherche S968 Inserm, l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 7210, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des quinze-vingts Paris, France.
authors: Francesco
authors: F
authors: Galluppi
authors: Equipe de Vision et Calcul Naturel, Vision Institute, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Unité Mixte de Recherche S968 Inserm, l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 7210, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des quinze-vingts Paris, France.
authors: Xavier
authors: X
authors: Lagorce
authors: Advanced Processors Technology Group, School of Computer Science, University of Manchester Manchester, UK.
authors: Evangelos
authors: E
authors: Stromatias
authors: Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zürich and ETH Zürich Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Pfeiffer
authors: Advanced Processors Technology Group, School of Computer Science, University of Manchester Manchester, UK.
authors: Luis A
authors: LA
authors: Plana
authors: Advanced Processors Technology Group, School of Computer Science, University of Manchester Manchester, UK.
authors: Steve B
authors: SB
authors: Furber
authors: Equipe de Vision et Calcul Naturel, Vision Institute, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Unité Mixte de Recherche S968 Inserm, l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 7210, Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des quinze-vingts Paris, France.
authors: Ryad B
authors: RB
authors: Benosman
keywords: BCM; STDP; SpiNNaker; learning; neuromorphic hardware; plasticity
references: Nanotechnology. 2013 Sep 27;24(38):384010
references: 23999381
references: Neural Netw. 2012 Aug;32:3-14
references: 22386500
references: Neural Comput. 2005 Apr;17(4):859-79
references: 15829092
references: IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst. 2009 Feb;3(1):32-42
references: 23853161
references: PLoS One. 2013 May 23;8(5):e64294
references: 23717586
references: Neuron. 2000 Mar;25(3):707-15
references: 10774737
references: Nat Neurosci. 2010 Mar;13(3):344-52
references: 20098420
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2008 Oct;4(10):e1000180
references: 18846203
references: Neural Comput. 2001 Dec;13(12):2709-41
references: 11705408
references: Nat Neurosci. 2000 Nov;3 Suppl:1178-83
references: 11127835
references: Nature. 1996 Sep 5;383(6595):76-81
references: 8779718
references: Front Neurosci. 2011 May 31;5:73
references: 21747754
references: J Neurosci. 1982 Jan;2(1):32-48
references: 7054394
references: J R Soc Interface. 2007 Apr 22;4(13):193-206
references: 17251143
references: Biol Cybern. 2008 Jun;98(6):459-78
references: 18491160
references: Network. 2012;23(4):167-82
references: 23067314
references: Front Neurosci. 2014 Jan 30;7:272
references: 24574952
references: Front Comput Neurosci. 2012 Nov 01;6:93
references: 23125832
references: J Gen Physiol. 1956 May 20;39(5):651-73
references: 13319654
references: Front Neurosci. 2012 Jul 17;6:90
references: 22822388
references: J Math Biol. 1982;15(3):267-73
references: 7153672
references: J Neurosci. 1998 Dec 15;18(24):10464-72
references: 9852584
references: Front Neuroinform. 2009 Jan 27;2:11
references: 19194529
references: Front Synaptic Neurosci. 2010 Oct 25;2:146
references: 21423532
references: Science. 2012 Oct 5;338(6103):60-5
references: 23042882
references: IEEE Trans Neural Netw. 2006 Jan;17(1):211-21
references: 16526488
references: Neural Comput. 2007 Nov;19(11):2881-912
references: 17883345
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2010 Apr 22;6(4):e1000757
references: 20421937
references: Neuron. 2012 Sep 20;75(6):951-62
references: 22998865
references: Neuron. 2001 Dec 20;32(6):1149-64
references: 11754844
references: J Neurophysiol. 2012 May;107(9):2506-16
references: 22323631
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2011 Jun;7(6):e1002092
references: 21738460
references: Neural Comput. 2006 Feb;18(2):245-82
references: 16378515
references: Vision Res. 1997 Dec;37(23):3339-42
references: 9425548
references: Neuron. 2001 Oct 25;32(2):339-50
references: 11684002
references: Neural Netw. 2013 Dec;48:109-24
references: 23994510
references: Front Neuroinform. 2009 Mar 24;3:7
references: 19352442
references: Front Comput Neurosci. 2014 Jul 08;8:68
references: 25071538
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2014 Mar 27;10(3):e1003511
references: 24675787
references: Science. 1997 Jan 10;275(5297):213-5
references: 8985014
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Apr;79(8):2554-8
references: 6953413
references: Nature. 2012 Jan 25;482(7383):47-52
references: 22278062
references: Neural Netw. 2009 Jul-Aug;22(5-6):791-800
references: 19615853
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2013 Apr;9(4):e1003037
references: 23633941
references: Front Neurosci. 2013 Feb 13;7:14
references: 23408739
references: Front Comput Neurosci. 2014 May 07;8:53
references: 24847242
references: Front Neurosci. 2011 Mar 17;5:26
references: 21442012
references: Front Neurosci. 2014 Jan 17;7:278
references: 24478621
references: Neural Comput. 2005 Aug;17(8):1776-801
references: 15969917
references: Nat Neurosci. 2000 Sep;3(9):919-26
references: 10966623
references: PLoS Comput Biol. 2011 May;7(5):e1001133
references: 21589888
references: Neural Comput. 2009 Nov;21(11):3106-29
references: 19686067
references: Front Neurosci. 2013 Aug 30;7:153
references: 24009550
references: Cereb Cortex. 2007 Oct;17(10):2443-52
references: 17220510
references: Front Neurosci. 2012 Feb 06;6:17
references: 22347163
references: J Comput Neurosci. 2007 Dec;23(3):349-98
references: 17629781
references: Front Comput Neurosci. 2009 Oct 30;3:23
references: 19893759