Biological Basis of HTMs

Towards a Mathematical Theory of Cortical Micro-circuits

Authored by Dileep George and Jeff Hawkins, this paper is a peer-reviewed, scientific paper that describes in detail the mapping of our HTM theory to the neuro circuitry in the brain.

PLoS website

Abstract

The theoretical setting of hierarchical Bayesian inference is gaining acceptance as a framework for understanding cortical computation. In this paper, we describe how Bayesian belief propagation in a spatio-temporal hierarchical model, called Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM), can lead to a mathematical model for cortical circuits. An HTM node is abstracted using a coincidence detector and a mixture of Markov chains. Bayesian belief propagation equations for such an HTM node define a set of functional constraints for a neuronal implementation. Anatomical data provide a contrasting set of organizational constraints. The combination of these two constraints suggests a theoretically derived interpretation for many anatomical and physiological features and predicts several others. We describe the pattern recognition capabilities of HTM networks and demonstrate the application of the derived circuits for modeling the subjective contour effect. We also discuss how the theory and the circuit can be extended to explain cortical features that are not explained by the current model and describe testable predictions that can be derived from the model.

Citation: George D, Hawkins J (2009) Towards a Mathematical Theory of Cortical Micro-circuits. PLoS Comput Biol 5(10): e1000532. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000532

Feedback Mechanism in Neocortex and HTM

In his technical keynote at the 2009 HTM Workshop Dileep presents an overview of feedback mechanism in the neocortex and relates biological design to HTM implementation.

View Talk

HTM: Biological Mapping to Neocortex and Thalamus

This is an hour long talk describing how HTM technology maps to the anatomy and physiology or the brain. Engineers who are familiar with HTM have found this talk helpful so we decided to record it and make it available.