Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers

Although animals can learn to use abstract numbers to represent the number of items, whether untrained animals could distinguish between different abstract numbers is not clear. A two-layer spiking neural network with lateral inhibition was built from the perspective of biological interpretability....

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Main Authors: Yiwei Zhou, Huanwen Chen, Yijun Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroinformatics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.973010/full
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author Yiwei Zhou
Huanwen Chen
Yijun Wang
author_facet Yiwei Zhou
Huanwen Chen
Yijun Wang
author_sort Yiwei Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Although animals can learn to use abstract numbers to represent the number of items, whether untrained animals could distinguish between different abstract numbers is not clear. A two-layer spiking neural network with lateral inhibition was built from the perspective of biological interpretability. The network connection weight was set randomly without adjustment. On the basis of this model, experiments were carried out on the symbolic number dataset MNIST and non-symbolic numerosity dataset. Results showed that the model has abilities to distinguish symbolic numbers. However, compared with number sense, tuning curves of symbolic numbers could not reproduce size and distance effects. The preference distribution also could not show high distribution characteristics at both ends and low distribution characteristics in the middle. More than half of the network units prefer the symbolic numbers 0 and 5. The average goodness-of-fit of the Gaussian fitting of tuning curves increases with the increase in abscissa non-linearity. These results revealed that the concept of human symbolic number is trained on the basis of number sense.
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spelling doaj.art-fbe66f7448e14919942cd170049585082022-12-22T01:45:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroinformatics1662-51962022-09-011610.3389/fninf.2022.973010973010Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbersYiwei ZhouHuanwen ChenYijun WangAlthough animals can learn to use abstract numbers to represent the number of items, whether untrained animals could distinguish between different abstract numbers is not clear. A two-layer spiking neural network with lateral inhibition was built from the perspective of biological interpretability. The network connection weight was set randomly without adjustment. On the basis of this model, experiments were carried out on the symbolic number dataset MNIST and non-symbolic numerosity dataset. Results showed that the model has abilities to distinguish symbolic numbers. However, compared with number sense, tuning curves of symbolic numbers could not reproduce size and distance effects. The preference distribution also could not show high distribution characteristics at both ends and low distribution characteristics in the middle. More than half of the network units prefer the symbolic numbers 0 and 5. The average goodness-of-fit of the Gaussian fitting of tuning curves increases with the increase in abscissa non-linearity. These results revealed that the concept of human symbolic number is trained on the basis of number sense.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.973010/fullsymbolic numbernumber sensespiking neural networklateral inhibitionvisual recognition
spellingShingle Yiwei Zhou
Huanwen Chen
Yijun Wang
Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
Frontiers in Neuroinformatics
symbolic number
number sense
spiking neural network
lateral inhibition
visual recognition
title Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
title_full Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
title_fullStr Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
title_full_unstemmed Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
title_short Recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
title_sort recognition ability of untrained neural networks to symbolic numbers
topic symbolic number
number sense
spiking neural network
lateral inhibition
visual recognition
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.973010/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yiweizhou recognitionabilityofuntrainedneuralnetworkstosymbolicnumbers
AT huanwenchen recognitionabilityofuntrainedneuralnetworkstosymbolicnumbers
AT yijunwang recognitionabilityofuntrainedneuralnetworkstosymbolicnumbers