{"ID":2852042,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20847","arxiv_id":"2510.20847","title":"Integrated representational signatures strengthen specificity in brains and models","abstract":"The extent to which different neural or artificial neural networks (models) rely on equivalent representations to support similar tasks remains a central question in neuroscience and machine learning. Prior work has typically compared systems using a single representational similarity metric, yet each captures only one facet of representational structure. To address this, we leverage a suite of representational similarity metrics-each capturing a distinct facet of representational correspondence, such as geometry, unit-level tuning, or linear decodability-and assess brain region or model separability using multiple complementary measures. Metrics that preserve geometric or tuning structure (e.g., RSA, Soft Matching) yield stronger region-based discrimination, whereas more flexible mappings such as Linear Predictivity show weaker separation. These findings suggest that geometry and tuning encode brain-region- or model-family-specific signatures, while linearly decodable information tends to be more globally shared across regions or models. To integrate these complementary representational facets, we adapt Similarity Network Fusion (SNF), a framework originally developed for multi-omics data integration. SNF produces substantially sharper regional and model family-level separation than any single metric and yields robust composite similarity profiles. Moreover, clustering cortical regions using SNF-derived similarity scores reveals a clearer hierarchical organization that aligns closely with established anatomical and functional hierarchies of the visual cortex-surpassing the correspondence achieved by individual metrics.","short_abstract":"The extent to which different neural or artificial neural networks (models) rely on equivalent representations to support similar tasks remains a central question in neuroscience and machine learning. Prior work has typically compared systems using a single representational similarity metric, yet each captures only one...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20847","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.20847v2","authors":"[\"Jialin Wu\",\"Shreya Saha\",\"Yiqing Bo\",\"Meenakshi Khosla\"]","published":"2025-10-21T04:37:27Z","proceeding":"q-bio.NC","tasks":"[\"q-bio.NC\",\"cs.AI\"]","methods":"[\"Generative Adversarial Network\"]","has_code":false}