[Verse 1]
In the cortex where the pyramids align
Rao and Ballard traced prediction's design
Layer five sends guesses to the layer above
While layer six brings errors down with precision and love
The brain's not just responding to what it sees
It's constantly predicting what the future will be
When reality mismatches what we thought we'd find
Error signals flow backward through the neural divide
[Chorus]
Predictive coding, error correction
Hebbian learning, synaptic connection
From the top down the predictions descend
Bottom up the errors ascend
Backprop approximated in biological ways
Through cortical columns where information plays
Prediction error minimization
Is the brain's computational foundation
[Verse 2]
Whittington and Bogacz took it further still
Showed how Hebbian plasticity fits the bill
Local learning rules that neurons can employ
To approximate gradients without centralized deploy
No need for perfect backward passes through the net
Just correlations between what neurons get
When prediction neurons fire with error nodes
The weights adjust along their natural codes
[Chorus]
Predictive coding, error correction
Hebbian learning, synaptic connection
From the top down the predictions descend
Bottom up the errors ascend
Backprop approximated in biological ways
Through cortical columns where information plays
Prediction error minimization
Is the brain's computational foundation
[Bridge]
Millidge proved the theory scales beyond
To arbitrary graphs where computations spawn
Not just feedforward nets or simple trees
But complex architectures with recursive degrees
The mathematics bridge biology and AI
Showing how cortical circuits amplify
Learning through prediction and surprise
Natural intelligence before our eyes
[Verse 3]
Inference neurons hold the current best guess
While error neurons signal the distress
Between what's predicted and what's truly there
Driving plasticity with mathematical flair
The cortical column as a processing unit
Computing hierarchical representations fit
For a world that's structured, layered, and deep
Where predictions and corrections their vigil keep
[Chorus]
Predictive coding, error correction
Hebbian learning, synaptic connection
From the top down the predictions descend
Bottom up the errors ascend
Backprop approximated in biological ways
Through cortical columns where information plays
Prediction error minimization
Is the brain's computational foundation
[Outro]
From visual cortex to the whole brain's span
Predictive coding reveals the master plan
Error-driven learning, biologically real
Making artificial networks more like what we feel