[Verse 1] In the cortex where the columns rise like towers Pyramidal cells hold computational powers Basal dendrites reaching down below Catching bottom-up signals as they flow Apical branches stretching to the top Where feedback signals never seem to stop Two-compartment architecture so divine Processing forward and backward in time [Chorus] Burst and regular, the rhythm of the mind Error in the mismatch, predictions realigned Apical versus soma, when they disagree That's the learning signal setting neurons free Microcircuits dancing, plasticity's the key Cortical columns computing what we'll be [Verse 2] Guerguiev-Lillicrap-Richards showed the way How errors can guide what neurons say When apical prediction meets somatic drive The difference teaches how the brain's alive Backpropagation through anatomy's design Nature's gradient descent, so refined Target signals flowing from the top While feedforward never seems to stop [Chorus] Burst and regular, the rhythm of the mind Error in the mismatch, predictions realigned Apical versus soma, when they disagree That's the learning signal setting neurons free Microcircuits dancing, plasticity's the key Cortical columns computing what we'll be [Verse 3] Sacramento mapped the circuits small and neat Dendrites weaving patterns so complete Inhibition sculpting signal flow Teaching networks everything they know Payeur revealed the burst-dependent scheme Multiplexing signals like a data stream Forward pass and error in one spike train Efficiency flowing through the brain [Verse 4] Layer five pyramids, the masters of the code Integrating signals down the neural road Calcium spikes in apical domains While sodium currents flow through somatic veins Nonlinear processing at the dendritic tree Where computation meets biology Credit assignment solved through evolution's art Each neuron playing its essential part [Bridge] From basal to apical, the story unfolds Computational mysteries that biology holds Mismatch detection in cellular space Learning algorithms nature did embrace Distributed processing, column by column Solving problems that seemed impossible to solve them [Chorus] Burst and regular, the rhythm of the mind Error in the mismatch, predictions realigned Apical versus soma, when they disagree That's the learning signal setting neurons free Microcircuits dancing, plasticity's the key Cortical columns computing what we'll be [Outro] In every column, in every cell The mathematics of learning tell How structure becomes function's art Neural networks with a beating heart
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