Transcript here - Simbrain

Turnkey tutorials with Simbrain for teaching
students about connectionist neural networks
Alex O. Holcombe
Psychology, University of Sydney
Jeffrey Yoshimi
University of California, Merced
Many neuroscience students graduate without a firm understanding of how networks of connected neurons could mediate
adaptive behaviour. Our two 50-minute tutorials (www.psych.usyd.edu.au/staff/alexh/teaching/neuralNets/) provides
undergraduates with an interactive, engaging experience that facilitates understanding.
1
Tutorial: Simple chasing behaviour
2
Tutorial: Auto-associative memory
Step-by-step instructions
lead students to train an
auto-associative network
with simple patterns
This tutorial teaches:
•Hebbian learning
•Memory as pattern of
synaptic weights
•Pattern completion
•Interference between
overlapping memories
Step-by-step
instructions lead
students through
incremental
creation of the
connectionist
network.
The top layer are
motor neurons
that control the
movements of
the blue boy in
the virtual
world.
Students have fun as they wire the network so that the boy will accomplish the goal of
chasing the two girls. In following the instructions, and in tinkering with the network,
students learn:
• The summate-and-threshold activation rule
• How simple connections can result in goal-directed behaviour
• The concept of exclusive-or (instantiated here as ‘chase blonde or brunette but not if
they are together at the same party’)
• How a ‘hidden-layer’ neuron with simple connections can compute exclusive-or
(http://simbrain.net) is
• Java software that runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux
• Neural network simulation software
• Open Source
• So easy and visual that students quickly grasp what’s going on
3
You want neurons that spike?
As well as modeling these abstracted connectionist
units, SimBrain can model spiking neurons.
The two tutorials described here are
• Free
• Battle-tested and refined through past use in 3rd-year psychology classes
• Easily modifiable and expandable
• Web pages (at http://simbrain.net/ans) with step-by-step instructions
• All accomplished via simple point-and-click steps and menu items
•Contact us about developing related lessons!
•Ask me about the evidencechart.com teaching project