We study the topology of learned representations in predictive coding networks (PCNs), a neuro-inspired bidirectional architecture, using a quantitative layer-wise persistent homology analysis. We train well-performing PCNs on a synthetic classification dataset ($\geq 99.
arXiv:2606. 00073v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We investigate how internal representations emerge across hierarchical processing systems by introducing a neuroscience-inspired framework for analyzing deep spiking neural networks (SNN) through the lens of functional connectivity.
By Aditi Aravind, Konstantinos Ladakis, Mario Alexios Savaglio, Stelios M. Smirnakis, Maria Papadopouli
arXiv:2604. 00208v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Comparing internal representations is a central goal in neuroscience and machine learning, but standard linear alignment metrics (Representational Similarity Analysis, Centered Kernel Alignment, and linear regression) are frequently applied to neural activity coordinates rather than on the underlying features.
By Sunny Liu, Habon Issa, Andr\'e Longon, Liv Gorton, Meenakshi Khosla, Alex Williams, David Klindt
We investigate how each component of the Transformer feedforward block architecture design determines how much rank survives across depth at initialization. We reinterpret skip connections and normalization, long understood as controlling magnitude, as mechanisms for preserving gradient rank across depth, since the very matrix multiplications and nonlinear activations that make the network expressive also reduce the rank.
arXiv:2604. 00230v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Neural collapse (NC) -- the convergence of penultimate-layer features to a simplex equiangular tight frame -- is well understood at equilibrium, but the dynamics governing its onset remain poorly characterised.
By Anamika Paul Rupa
arXiv:2606. 31856v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We study layered models, including feedforward networks, ResNets, and transformers, by limiting each layer to a width of $d = 3$, i.
By Junyu Ren, Lek-Heng Lim
arXiv:2607. 14018v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We investigate how each component of the Transformer feedforward block architecture design determines how much rank survives across depth at initialization.
By Katie Everett
arXiv:2603. 01568v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Efficient coding theory predicts that biological perceptual systems compress sensory input optimally under resource constraints, with the systematic structure of errors reflecting the geometry of that compression.
By Leyla Roksan Caglar, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Baihan Lin
arXiv:2606. 12138v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Sparse autoencoders (SAEs) are widely used to interpret neural network representations, but their utility depends on whether the learned features are reproducible across training runs.
By Gleb Gerasimov, Timofei Rusalev, Nikita Balagansky, Daniil Laptev, Vadim Kurochkin, Daniil Gavrilov
Predictive coding networks (PCNs) offer a biologically-plausible, local-learning alternative to back-propagation of errors (backprop). Nevertheless, they have remained largely confined to shallow architectures and evaluated on simple machine intelligence benchmarks.
arXiv:2607. 21366v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Deep neural networks encode complex representations, but deconstructing this internal knowledge remains a challenge.
By Hossein Mobahi, Peter L. Bartlett
arXiv:2606. 11911v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Persistence diagrams are common representations in topological data analysis, but they do not naturally live in a vector space, and the statistical tools developed for comparing them have largely evolved separately from those used for downstream prediction.
By Juliette Murris, Bernadette Stolz, Karsten Borgwardt