Long-Term Memory Stabilized by Noise-Induced Rehearsal
Open accessAbstract
Cortical networks can maintain memories for decades despite the short lifetime of synaptic strengths. Can a neural network store long-lasting memories in unstable synapses? Here, we study the effects of ongoing spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) on the stability of memory patterns stored in synapses of an attractor neural network. We show that certain classes of STDP rules can stabilize all stored memory patterns despite a short lifetime of synapses. In our model, unstructured neural noise, after passing through the recurrent network connections, carries the imprint of all memory patterns in temporal correlations. STDP, combined with these correlations, leads to reinforcement of all stored patterns, even those that are never explicitly visited. Our findings may provide the functional reason for irregular spiking displayed by cortical neurons and justify models of system memory consolidation. Therefore, we propose that irregular neural activity is the feature that helps cortical networks maintain stable connections.
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Such long intervals are likely to reactivate and reinforce consolidated patterns of strengthened synapses that correspond to memory traces maintained by neuronal network activity.
“Such intervals are likely to reactivate and reinforce consolidated patterns of strengthened synapses that correspond to memory traces that are maintained by neuronal network activity72.”
From The right time to learn: Mechanisms and optimization of spaced learning (2016) · cites this paper as [72]
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- Authors
- Wei, Y., & Koulakov, A. A.
- Affiliations
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2014-11-19
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 15804-15815
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC4236406
- OpenAlex
- W2040359323
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 1.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Institutional Repository (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH092928)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA036913)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Neural Networks and Applications
- Keywords
- long-term memory, memory stabilization, spike-timing-dependent plasticity, attractor networks, synaptic plasticity, temporal correlation, memory consolidation, cortical networks, synaptic stability
- MeSH terms
- Computer Simulation, Humans, Models, Neurological, Neuronal Plasticity, Synapses, Neural Networks, Computer, Electrophysiological Phenomena, Memory, Long-Term
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