Dense Jacobian Transport Changes Model-Brain RSA in a Prompt- and Depth-Dependent Manner
Frank Peterlein
Does emphasizing output-relevant directions in a language model make its representations more brain-like? We compare normalized dense J-Lens transport with ordinary residual states using representational similarity analysis against fMRI responses to 515 natural scenes from eight Natural Scenes Dataset participants. Dense transport reduced alignment in the preregistered aggregate and in 15 of 18 frozen extension contrasts; effects varied by prompt and transformer depth. Full-rank but anisotropic Jacobians indicate geometric reweighting rather than rank collapse. This bounds a tempting workspace analogy: dense transport is not a shortcut to neural alignment and is not the formal sparse J-space projection.
The strongest part is the separation between the preregistered result, the post-result frozen extension, and the claim boundary. Dense transport is consistently worse in the confirmatory analysis, and the spectral and normalization controls make that result more informative than a simple null. The main limit is scope: eight participants, one model and lens, caption-mediated fMRI alignment, no early-visual control, and dense J_l h_l rather than the formal sparse J-space projection. The decisive next test is the one the paper identifies: compare formal sparse J-space with variance-matched random and complementary subspaces, add early visual cortex, and report encoding models alongside RSA.
Cite this work
@misc {
title={
(HckPrj) Dense Jacobian Transport Changes Model-Brain RSA in a Prompt- and Depth-Dependent Manner
},
author={
Frank Peterlein
},
date={
},
organization={Apart Research},
note={Research submission to the research sprint hosted by Apart.},
howpublished={https://apartresearch.com}
}


