Excitatory versus inhibitory feedback in Bayesian formulations of scene construction. Issue 154 (1st May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Abadi, Alireza Khatoon; Yahya, Keyvan; Amini, Massoud; Friston, Karl; Heinke, Dietmar
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Royal Society interface. Volume 16:Issue 154(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-05-01
• Subjects: selective visual attention -- computational modelling -- active inference -- parallel distributed processing -- neuroimaging; Physical sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Interdisciplinary research -- Periodicals; 570.5
• DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0344
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-5689

Abstract

Abstract : The selective attention for identification model (SAIM) is an established model of selective visual attention. SAIM implements translation-invariant object recognition, in scenes with multiple objects, using the parallel distributed processing (PDP) paradigm. Here, we show that SAIM can be formulated as Bayesian inference. Crucially, SAIM uses excitatory feedback to combine top-down information (i.e. object knowledge) with bottom-up sensory information. By contrast, predictive coding implementations of Bayesian inference use inhibitory feedback. By formulating SAIM as a predictive coding scheme, we created a new version of SAIM that uses inhibitory feedback. Simulation studies showed that both types of architectures can reproduce the response time costs induced by multiple objects—as found in visual search experiments. However, due to the different nature of the feedback, the two SAIM schemes make distinct predictions about the motifs of microcircuits mediating the effects of top-down afferents. We discuss empirical (neuroimaging) methods to test the predictions of the two inference architectures.