Synaptic field theory for neural networks

Theoretical understanding of deep learning remains elusive despite its empirical success. In this study, we propose a novel “synaptic field theory” that describes the training dynamics of synaptic weights and biases in the continuum limit. Unlike previous approaches, our framework treats synaptic weights and biases as fields and interprets their indices as spatial coordinates, with the training data acting as external sources. This perspective offers new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of deep learning and suggests a pathway for leveraging well-established field-theoretic techniques to study neural network training.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2025-07-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/bhwt-j2rq
Primary Topic
Neural Networks and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Synaptic field theory for neural networks

Hye‐Sung Lee, Jaeok Yi, Donghee Lee
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Neural Networks and Applications
article

Synaptic field theory for neural networks

Hye‐Sung Lee, Jaeok Yi, Donghee Lee
article en

Abstract

Theoretical understanding of deep learning remains elusive despite its empirical success. In this study, we propose a novel “synaptic field theory” that describes the training dynamics of synaptic weights and biases in the continuum limit. Unlike previous approaches, our framework treats synaptic weights and biases as fields and interprets their indices as spatial coordinates, with the training data acting as external sources. This perspective offers new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of deep learning and suggests a pathway for leveraging well-established field-theoretic techniques to study neural network training.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.Vol. 112(3)
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
National Research Foundation of Korea
Openalex Percentile: Top 89%
Neural Networks and Applications
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