Associative Memory Properties of Multiple Cortical Modules

The existence of recurrent collateral connections between pyramidal cells within a cortical area, and in addition reciprocal connections between connected cortical areas, is well established. In this work we analyze the properties of a tri-modular architecture of this type in which two input modules have convergent connections to a third module (which in the brain might be the next module in cortical processing or a bi-modal area relating two different processing pathways). Memory storage and processing is analyzed in this system, which has Hebb-like synaptic modifiability in the connections, and attractor states. Local activity patterns are stored in the intra-modular connections while the associations between corresponding patterns in different modules are stored in the inter-modular connections. The response of the network under corresponding and contradictory stimuli in the two pathways is studied in detail. Whereas consistent stimulation is the normal situation, the case of contra..