Effects of temporary synaptic strengthening and residual cell potential in the retrieval of patterns

Abstract

The standard (Hopfield) model is extended to include two additional ingredients; the efficacy of an excitatory synapse becomes strong temporarily during the retrieval process when the pre- and postsynaptic neurons fire successively, and the membrane potential of a neuron is carried forward to the next time when it has not fired. The simulation of the model shows that both mechanisms stabilize the retrieval of stored patterns significantly and increase the sizes of the basins of attraction substantially. The interference of two patterns is shown to occur if those patterns are successively recalled.