Impact of deviation from precise balance of spike-timing-dependent plasticity

TL;DR

This paper analytically demonstrates that associative memory networks can robustly retrieve spatio-temporal patterns despite deviations from the precise balance of LTP and LTD in STDP, challenging prior assumptions about the necessity of perfect balance.

Contribution

The study provides a mathematical analysis showing the robustness of associative memory networks to imbalance in STDP, which was previously only numerically investigated.

Findings

Networks retain pattern retrieval despite LTP/LTD imbalance

Analytical proof of robustness in finite neuron networks

Challenges the belief that precise STDP balance is essential

Abstract

Recent biological experimental findings have shown that synaptic plasticity depends on the relative timing of pre- and post-synaptic spikes and this is called spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). Many authors have claimed that a precise balance between long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of STDP is crucial in the storage of spatio-temporal patterns. Some authors have numerically investigated the impact of an imbalance between LTP and LTD on the network properties. However, the mathematical mechanism remains unknown. We analytically show that an associative memory network has the robust retrieval properties of spatio-temporal patterns, and these properties make the network less vulnerable to any deviation from a precise balance between LTP and LTD when the network contains a finite number of neurons.