An Improved Algorithm for Spiking Neural Networks with Multi-Scale Attention Coding

Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs), driven by spike-based mechanisms, are known for their high efficiency and low energy consumption, which makes them ideal for applications like image classification, object detection, and medical diagnostics. However, challenges include training difficulties due to the non-differentiability of spiking activities and limitations in encoding schemes, which struggle to capture complex spatio-temporal dynamics. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm, termed the Spatio-Temporal Backpropagation algorithm with Multi-Scale Attention Coding (STBP-MSC). STBP-MSC dynamically allocates attention across spatial and temporal domains, which improves coding efficiency and enhances the classification accuracy of SNNs. Furthermore, STBP-MSC incorporates the Complementary Leaky Integrate-and-Fire (CLIF) neuron model, which enhances temporal gradient computation. Experimental results on the MNIST and Fashion-MNIST datasets demonstrate that STBP-MSC achieves high coding efficiency and superior performance within minimal time windows.