{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4415036992","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.21191","title":"Unveiling Instruction-Specific Neurons & Experts: An Analytical Framework for LLM's Instruction-Following Capabilities","display_name":"Unveiling Instruction-Specific Neurons & Experts: An Analytical Framework for LLM's Instruction-Following Capabilities","publication_year":2025,"publication_date":"2025-05-27","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4415036992","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.21191"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2505.21191","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21191","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.21191","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},"volume":null,"type":"preprint","is_traditional":true,"indexed_in":["arxiv","datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.21191","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5100606719","display_name":"Junyan Zhang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6901-2344","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6901-2344"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Junyan","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5103256480","display_name":"Yubo Gao","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-1748","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-1748"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Gao, Yubo","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5101212617","display_name":"Yibo Yan","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0987-9942","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0987-9942"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I200769079","display_name":"Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00q4vv597","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN","HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yan, Yibo","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5039844068","display_name":"Jungang Li","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9594-2178","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9594-2178"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I200769079","display_name":"Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00q4vv597","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN","HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Jungang","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Hou, Zhaorui","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Hou, Zhaorui","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Tao, Sicheng","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Tao, Sicheng","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5007824173","display_name":"Shuliang Liu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-6263","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-6263"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I200769079","display_name":"Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00q4vv597","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN","HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Liu, Shuliang","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Dai, Song","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Dai, Song","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5119938674","display_name":"Yonghua Hei","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Hei, Yonghua","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5079369912","display_name":"Junzhuo Li","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6831-5423","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6831-5423","https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3807-5111"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I200769079","display_name":"Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00q4vv597","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN","HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Junzhuo","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5043651092","display_name":"Xuming Hu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6075-4224","observed_orcids":["https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6075-4224"]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I200769079","display_name":"Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00q4vv597","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405261251","display_name":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)","ror":"https://ror.org/050h0vm43","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}],"countries":["CN","HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Hu, Xuming","raw_affiliation_strings":["The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I200769079"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou )","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405261251"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":2,"institutions_distinct_count":2,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":3,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.8159000277519226,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.8159000277519226,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12026","display_name":"Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)","score":0.05719999969005585,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11307","display_name":"Domain Adaptation and Few-Shot Learning","score":0.0478999987244606,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/instruction-following","display_name":"instruction following","score":0.6830000281333923},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/large-language-models","display_name":"large language models","score":0.9490000009536743},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/fine-tuning","display_name":"fine-tuning","score":0.7680000066757202},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/mixture-of-experts","display_name":"mixture of experts","score":0.7839999794960022},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/llm-interpretability","display_name":"LLM interpretability","score":0.6150000095367432}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780767217","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5532421","display_name":"Generality","level":2,"score":0.7993999719619751},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7077999711036682},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26517878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228039","display_name":"Key (lock)","level":2,"score":0.578499972820282},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.48980000615119934},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C66024118","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1122506","display_name":"Computational model","level":2,"score":0.47940000891685486},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C153701036","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q659974","display_name":"Trustworthiness","level":2,"score":0.4584999978542328},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.3944000005722046},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18762648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42213","display_name":"Work (physics)","level":2,"score":0.34459999203681946},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C45374587","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12525525","display_name":"Computation","level":2,"score":0.33399999141693115},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.31279999017715454},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C188147891","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q147638","display_name":"Cognitive science","level":1,"score":0.26829999685287476}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2505.21191","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21191","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.21191","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.21191","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.21191","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.21191","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2505.21191","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21191","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.21191","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"study_designs":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":true,"grobid_xml":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W4415036992.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W4415036992.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":48,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W2612431505","https://openalex.org/W2626804490","https://openalex.org/W3082115681","https://openalex.org/W3177813494","https://openalex.org/W3198002980","https://openalex.org/W4301194718","https://openalex.org/W4308023630","https://openalex.org/W4318908031","https://openalex.org/W4379089709","https://openalex.org/W4384918448","https://openalex.org/W4385572634","https://openalex.org/W4385573694","https://openalex.org/W4387225871","https://openalex.org/W4387687067","https://openalex.org/W4392121825","https://openalex.org/W4392866835","https://openalex.org/W4393138529","https://openalex.org/W4393336283","https://openalex.org/W4399695807","https://openalex.org/W4401042559","https://openalex.org/W4402671717","https://openalex.org/W4403323711","https://openalex.org/W4403883004","https://openalex.org/W4403963967","https://openalex.org/W4404573790","https://openalex.org/W4404783281","https://openalex.org/W4406072863","https://openalex.org/W4406603968","https://openalex.org/W4407212464","https://openalex.org/W4407806651","https://openalex.org/W4410061981","https://openalex.org/W4412888230","https://openalex.org/W4413299510","https://openalex.org/W4415154470","https://openalex.org/W4415156364","https://openalex.org/W4415248342","https://openalex.org/W4415795368","https://openalex.org/W4415798674","https://openalex.org/W4416036156","https://openalex.org/W4416296080","https://openalex.org/W4416649973","https://openalex.org/W4417223409","https://openalex.org/W4417305769","https://openalex.org/W6910851958","https://openalex.org/W7111148463","https://openalex.org/W7124471359","https://openalex.org/W7133208539","https://openalex.org/W7196971478"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4387323627","https://openalex.org/W7115002957","https://openalex.org/W4412945078","https://openalex.org/W4378473852","https://openalex.org/W7151890638","https://openalex.org/W4409362445","https://openalex.org/W4407699659","https://openalex.org/W4409363794","https://openalex.org/W4404782838","https://openalex.org/W4416016498"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0],"finetuning":[1],"of":[2,92,103,117],"Large":[3],"Language":[4],"Models":[5],"(LLMs)":[6],"has":[7],"significantly":[8],"advanced":[9],"their":[10,93,104],"instruction-following":[11,143],"capabilities,":[12],"yet":[13],"the":[14,114,125,146],"underlying":[15],"computational":[16,132],"mechanisms":[17],"driving":[18],"these":[19,86,118],"improvements":[20],"remain":[21],"poorly":[22],"understood.":[23],"This":[24],"study":[25],"systematically":[26],"examines":[27],"how":[28,140],"fine-tuning":[29],"reconfigures":[30],"LLM":[31,148],"computations":[32],"by":[33],"isolating":[34],"and":[35,45,48,62,70,96,98,113,130],"analyzing":[36],"instruction-specific":[37],"sparse":[38,87,131],"components,":[39,88],"i.e.,":[40],"neurons":[41,47],"in":[42,50,120],"dense":[43],"models":[44],"both":[46],"experts":[49],"Mixture-of-Experts":[51],"(MoE)":[52],"architectures.":[53],"In":[54],"particular,":[55],"we":[56,108],"introduce":[57],"HexaInst,":[58],"a":[59,73,82,100],"carefully":[60],"curated":[61],"balanced":[63],"instructional":[64],"dataset":[65],"spanning":[66],"six":[67],"distinct":[68],"categories,":[69],"propose":[71],"SPARCOM,":[72],"novel":[74],"analytical":[75],"framework":[76],"comprising":[77],"three":[78],"key":[79],"contributions:":[80],"(1)":[81],"method":[83],"for":[84,145],"identifying":[85],"(2)":[89],"an":[90],"evaluation":[91],"functional":[94,110],"generality":[95],"uniqueness,":[97,112],"(3)":[99],"systematic":[101],"comparison":[102],"alterations.":[105],"Through":[106],"experiments,":[107],"demonstrate":[109],"generality,":[111],"critical":[115],"role":[116],"components":[119],"instruction":[121],"execution.":[122],"By":[123],"elucidating":[124],"relationship":[126],"between":[127],"fine-tuning-induced":[128],"adaptations":[129],"substrates,":[133],"this":[134],"work":[135],"provides":[136],"deeper":[137],"insights":[138],"into":[139],"LLMs":[141],"internalize":[142],"behavior":[144],"trustworthy":[147],"community.":[149]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":2},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-11-07T11:25:07.637180","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}