Diffusion of Neuromodulators for Temporal Credit Assignment
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866914380708315136 |
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| author | Barretto-Bittar, João Levina, Anna Giannakakis, Emmanouil Zeraati, Roxana |
| author_facet | Barretto-Bittar, João Levina, Anna Giannakakis, Emmanouil Zeraati, Roxana |
| contents | Biological learning achieves temporal credit assignment despite sparse and imprecise feedback, often relying on neuromodulatory signals acting over space and time. Here, we introduce a learning mechanism in which error information diffuses locally through the network, similar to volume transmission of neuromodulators. This distributed modulation allows neurons to learn even in the absence of direct feedback, using the local concentration of the diffusing credit signal. Applied to recurrent spiking neural networks with sparse feedback connectivity, diffusive credit signaling improves learning across three benchmark tasks. Using eligibility propagation as a baseline learning mechanism, we show how diffusion-based modulation can provide a plausible mechanism for credit assignment in sparsely connected neural circuits. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_08949 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Diffusion of Neuromodulators for Temporal Credit Assignment Barretto-Bittar, João Levina, Anna Giannakakis, Emmanouil Zeraati, Roxana Neurons and Cognition Biological learning achieves temporal credit assignment despite sparse and imprecise feedback, often relying on neuromodulatory signals acting over space and time. Here, we introduce a learning mechanism in which error information diffuses locally through the network, similar to volume transmission of neuromodulators. This distributed modulation allows neurons to learn even in the absence of direct feedback, using the local concentration of the diffusing credit signal. Applied to recurrent spiking neural networks with sparse feedback connectivity, diffusive credit signaling improves learning across three benchmark tasks. Using eligibility propagation as a baseline learning mechanism, we show how diffusion-based modulation can provide a plausible mechanism for credit assignment in sparsely connected neural circuits. |
| title | Diffusion of Neuromodulators for Temporal Credit Assignment |
| topic | Neurons and Cognition |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.08949 |