A Burst-Dependent Algorithm for Neuromorphic On-Chip Learning of Spiking Neural Networks

The field of neuromorphic engineering addresses the high energy demands of neural networks through brain-inspired hardware for efficient neural network computing. For on-chip learning with spiking neural networks, neuromorphic hardware requires a local learning algorithm able to solve complex tasks. Approaches based on burst-dependent plasticity have been proposed to address this requirement, but their ability to learn complex tasks has remained unproven. Specifically, previous burst-dependent learning was demonstrated on a spiking version of the XOR problem using a network of thousands of neurons. Here, we extend burst-dependent learning, termed ‘Burstprop’, to address more complex tasks with hundreds of neurons. We evaluate Burstprop on a rate-encoded spiking version of the MNIST dataset, achieving low test classification errors, comparable to those obtained using backpropagation through time on the same architecture. Going further, we develop another burst-dependent algorithm based on the communication of two types of error-encoding events for the communication of positive and negative errors. We find that this new algorithm performs better on the image classification benchmark. We also tested our algorithms under various types of feedback connectivity, establishing that the capabilities of fixed random feedback connectivity is preserved in spiking neural networks. Lastly, we tested the robustness of the algorithm to weight discretization. Together, these results suggest that spiking Burstprop can scale to more complex learning tasks while maintaining efficiency, potentially providing a viable method for learning with neuromorphic hardware.