Bayesian inference in spiking neurons

We propose a new interpretation of spiking neurons as Bayesian integrators accumulating evidence over time about events in the external world or the body, and communicating to other neurons their certainties about these events. In this model, spikes signal the occurrence of new information, i.e. what cannot be predicted from the past activity. As a result, firing statistics are close to Poisson, albeit providing a deterministic representation of probabilities. We proceed to develop a theory of Bayesian inference in spiking neural networks, recurrent interactions implementing a variant of belief propagation. Many perceptual and motor tasks performed by the central nervous system are probabilistic, and can be described in a Bayesian framework [4, 3].