mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

NeuronScope: A Multi-Agent Framework for Explaining Polysemantic Neurons in Language Models

arXiv 2601.03671 ↗First posted 7 Jan 2026cs.CL cs.LGcited by 2

On the map: LLM agents and tool use → Medical and scientific domain agents

Abstract (arXiv)

Neuron-level interpretation in large language models (LLMs) is fundamentally challenged by widespread polysemanticity, where individual neurons respond to multiple distinct semantic concepts. Existing single-pass interpretation methods struggle to faithfully capture such multi-concept behavior. In this work, we propose NeuronScope, a multi-agent framework that reformulates neuron interpretation as an iterative, activation-guided process. NeuronScope explicitly deconstructs neuron activations into atomic semantic components, clusters them into distinct semantic modes, and iteratively refines each explanation using neuron activation feedback. Experiments demonstrate that NeuronScope uncovers hidden polysemanticity and produces explanations with significantly higher activation correlation compared to single-pass baselines.

Key facts. Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Medical and scientific domain agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 8 of its 20 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 7 Jan 2026.

Builds on

8 of 20 references.

References · 8

  1. 2024Gemma 2: Improving Open Language Models at a Practical Sizecited by 1,928
  2. 2022Interpretability in the Wild: a Circuit for Indirect Object Identification in GPT-2 smallcited by 1,130
  3. 2024The FineWeb Datasets: Decanting the Web for the Finest Text Data at Scalecited by 1,104
  4. 2023LMSYS-Chat-1M: A Large-Scale Real-World LLM Conversation Datasetcited by 449
  5. 2025A Survey on Sparse Autoencoders: Interpreting the Internal Mechanisms of Large Language Modelscited by 73
  6. 2018Manifold: A Model-Agnostic Framework for Interpretation and Diagnosis of Machine Learning Modelscited by 50
  7. 2025SAIF: A Sparse Autoencoder Framework for Interpreting and Steering Instruction Following of Language Modelscited by 32
  8. 2025KnowThyself: An Agentic Assistant for LLM Interpretabilitycited by 5

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Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 2.

2 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2026When Language Models Meet NeuroGraphs: Exploring Enhanced Agentic LLM Framework Towards Brain Network Analysis
  2. 2026Automated Interpretability and Feature Discovery in Language Models with Agents
  3. 2024LLM-assisted Concept Discovery: Automatically Identifying and Explaining Neuron Functions
  4. 2026Language Model Circuits Are Sparse in the Neuron Basis
  5. 2026Do LLMs and VLMs Share Neurons for Inference? Evidence and Mechanisms of Cross-Modal Transfer
  6. 2025Deciphering Functions of Neurons in Vision-Language Models
  7. 2025Do LLMs Signal When They're Right? Evidence from Neuron Agreement
  8. 2025SAGE: An Agentic Explainer Framework for Interpreting SAE Features in Language Models