Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Competitive dynamics are thought to occur in many processes of learning involving synaptic plasticity. Here we show, in a game theory-inspired model of synaptic interactions, that the competition between synapses in their weak and strong states gives rise to a natural framework of learning, with the prediction of memory inherent in a timescale for forgetting a learned signal. Among our main results is the prediction that memory is optimized if the weak synapses are really weak, and the strong synapses are really strong. Our work admits of many extensions and possible experiments to test its validity, and in particular complements an existing model of reaching, which has strong experimental support.
Source: Europhysics Letters (EPL)
Authors: G. Mahajan, A. Mehta
Institution: S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2157281857