Papers › A Synapse-Threshold Synergistic Learning Approach for Spiking Neural Networks

A Synapse-Threshold Synergistic Learning Approach for Spiking Neural Networks

10 Jun 2022arXiv:2206.06129archive 2025-07-28

Hongze Sun, Wuque Cai, Baoxin Yang, Yan Cui, Yang Xia, Dezhong Yao, Daqing Guo

Spiking neural networks (SNNs) have demonstrated excellent capabilities in various intelligent scenarios. Most existing methods for training SNNs are based on the concept of synaptic plasticity; however, learning in the realistic brain also utilizes intrinsic non-synaptic mechanisms of neurons. The spike threshold of biological neurons is a critical intrinsic neuronal feature that exhibits rich dynamics on a millisecond timescale and has been proposed as an underlying mechanism that facilitates neural information processing. In this study, we develop a novel synergistic learning approach that involves simultaneously training synaptic weights and spike thresholds in SNNs. SNNs trained with synapse-threshold synergistic learning~(STL-SNNs) achieve significantly superior performance on various static and neuromorphic datasets than SNNs trained with two degenerated single-learning models. During training, the synergistic learning approach optimizes neural thresholds, providing the network with stable signal transmission via appropriate firing rates. Further analysis indicates that STL-SNNs are robust to noisy data and exhibit low energy consumption for deep network structures. Additionally, the performance of STL-SNN can be further improved by introducing a generalized joint decision framework. Overall, our findings indicate that biologically plausible synergies between synaptic and intrinsic non-synaptic mechanisms may provide a promising approach for developing highly efficient SNN learning methods.

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sunhongze/STL-SNN officialpytorch report

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Tasks

Event data classificationGesture RecognitionSound Event Localization and Detection

Results from the paper archive 2025-07-28

TaskDatasetModelMetricValueRank at snapshotLeaderboardReport
Event data classification CIFAR10-DVS STL-SNN Accuracy 78.50 #2 of 7 Archive leaderboard report
Gesture Recognition DVS128 Gesture STL-SNN Accuracy (%) 97.22 #7 of 14 Archive leaderboard report
Sound Event Localization and Detection RWCP Sound Scene Database STL-SNN accuracy 98.4 #1 of 1 Archive leaderboard report

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