CRCNS US-French Research Proposal: Collaborative Research: A replay-driven model of spatial sequence learning in the Hippocampus-PFC network using reservoir computing

CRCNS 美国-法国研究提案：合作研究：使用储层计算的海马-PFC 网络中重放驱动的空间序列学习模型

• 批准号: 1429937
• 负责人: Alfredo Weitzenfeld
• 金额: $ 33.4万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-10-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1429937&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CRCNS; US; French; Research; Proposal

Spatial sequence learning is a complex cognitive process that enables animals and humans to reliably navigate between different locations in a specific order. The goal of this project is to provide a better understanding of how spatial sequence navigation is learned and optimized by integrating information obtained from experimental studies in rats with computational models and autonomous mobile robots.Spatial sequence learning has been shown to involve brain areas including the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Recent studies in the rat have shown that neurons in these two areas spontaneously re-activate in short sequences. Much attention has been paid to reactivation during sleep in the context of long-term memory consolidation. The focus of this project is on the role of replay during the awake state, as the animal is learning across multiple trials during the same session. The hypothesis is that the generation of these short sequences of activity in hippocampus allows for global spatial sequence learning in the PFC. The proposed work involves the development of an integrated model of the hippocampus-PFC network that is able to form spatial navigation sequences incorporating: 1) a replay-driven model for memory formation in the hippocampus and 2) a model of spatial sequence learning in the PFC that uses what is known as reservoir computing. The PFC reservoir will consist of large pools of interconnected neural elements that process information dynamically through reverberations. It will consolidate hippocampal replay sequences into larger spatial sequences that may be later recalled by subsets of the original sequences. The proposed work is expected to generate a new mechanistic understanding of the role of replay in memory acquisition in complex tasks such as sequence learning. That understanding will be leveraged and tested on robotic platforms. Original contributions of the proposed work include 1) the use of hippocampal replay to create small chunks of valid trajectories, 2) the use of reservoir computing to learn spatial sequences using the outputs of the hippocampus model, 3) constraining and testing of the model using electrophysiological data in behaving rats and 4) the use of the resulting model in the embodied-cognitive framework of a robot.A companion project is being funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR).

空间序列学习是一个复杂的认知过程，它使动物和人类能够以特定的顺序在不同的位置之间可靠地导航。该项目的目标是通过整合从计算模型和自主移动机器人的大鼠实验研究中获得的信息，更好地理解空间序列导航是如何学习和优化的。空间序列学习涉及海马和前额叶皮质（PFC）等大脑区域。最近对大鼠的研究表明，这两个区域的神经元会在短时间内自发地重新激活。在长期记忆巩固的背景下，睡眠期间的再激活已经得到了很多关注。这个项目的重点是在清醒状态下重放的作用，因为动物在同一阶段的多个试验中学习。假设是，海马体中这些短序列活动的产生允许PFC的全局空间序列学习。提出的工作包括开发海马体-PFC网络的集成模型，该模型能够形成空间导航序列，包括：1)海马体中记忆形成的重放驱动模型和2)PFC中的空间序列学习模型，该模型使用所谓的储层计算。PFC水库将由大量相互连接的神经元素组成，这些神经元素通过混响动态处理信息。它将海马体重放序列整合成更大的空间序列，这些序列以后可能被原始序列的子集回忆起来。该研究有望对序列学习等复杂任务中重放在记忆习得中的作用产生新的机制理解。这种理解将在机器人平台上得到利用和测试。提出的工作的原始贡献包括1)使用海马回放来创建有效轨迹的小块，2)使用储层计算来使用海马模型的输出来学习空间序列，3)使用行为大鼠的电生理数据对模型进行约束和测试，以及4)在机器人的具体认知框架中使用生成的模型。法国国家研究机构（ANR）正在资助一个伙伴项目。