Chen Distinguished Visitor Series - Raj Rao from University of Washington

As part of the Chen Distinguished Visitor Series, Raj Rao from University of Washington will be giving two talks, one on November 19 and one on November 20. His first talk, The Bayesian Brain: From Predictive Coding to Decision Making, will take place on Monday, November 19 at 4pm in Broad 100.

Abstract: How can the structure of brain circuits inform large-scale normative theories of brain function? We explore this question in the context of Bayesian models of perception and action, which prescribe optimal ways for combining sensory information with prior knowledge and rewards to enact behaviors. I will briefly review two Bayesian models we have explored, predictive coding and partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs), and illustrate how circuit structure combined with neurophysiology can provide important clues to systems-level computation.