Synergistic information supports modality integration and flexible learning in neural networks solving multiple tasks
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Striking progress has been made in understanding cognition by analyzing how the brain is engaged in different modes of information processing. For instance, so-called synergistic information (information encoded by a set of neurons but not by any subset) plays a key role in areas of the human brain linked with complex cognition. However, two questions remain unanswered: (a) how and why a cognitive system can become highly synergistic; and (b) how informational states map onto artificial neural networks in various learning modes. Here we employ an information-decomposition framework to investigate neural networks performing cognitive tasks. Our results show that synergy increases as networks learn multiple diverse tasks, and that in tasks requiring integration of multiple sources, performance critically relies on synergistic neurons. Overall, our results suggest that synergy is used to combine information from multiple modalities-and more generally for flexible and efficient learning. These findings reveal new ways of investigating how and why learning systems employ specific information-processing strategies, and support the principle that the capacity for general-purpose learning critically relies on the system's information dynamics.
Date Issued
2024-06
Date Acceptance
2024-05-18
Citation
PLoS Computational Biology, 2024, 20 (6)
ISSN
1553-734X
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Journal / Book Title
PLoS Computational Biology
Volume
20
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2024 Proca et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38829900
Subjects
Brain
Cognition
Computational Biology
Humans
Learning
Models, Neurological
Neural Networks, Computer
Neurons
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
e1012178
Date Publish Online
2024-06-03