Large Deviation Approach to Random Recurrent Neuronal Networks: Rate Function, Parameter Inference, and Activity Prediction

Statistical field theory captures collective non-equilibrium dynamics of neuronal networks, but it does not address the inverse problem of searching the connectivity to implement a desired dynamics. We here show for an analytically solvable network model that the effective action in statistical field theory is identical to the rate function in large deviation theory; using field theoretical methods we derive this rate function. It takes the form of a Kullback-Leibler divergence and enables data-driven inference of model parameters and Bayesian prediction of time series