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Limits on the memory storage capacity of bounded synapses

Nature Neuroscience volume 10, pages 485–493 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Memories maintained in patterns of synaptic connectivity are rapidly overwritten and destroyed by ongoing plasticity related to the storage of new memories. Short memory lifetimes arise from the bounds that must be imposed on synaptic efficacy in any realistic model. We explored whether memory performance can be improved by allowing synapses to traverse a large number of states before reaching their bounds, or by changing the way these bounds are imposed. In the case of hard bounds, memory lifetimes grow proportional to the square of the number of synaptic states, but only if potentiation and depression are precisely balanced. Improved performance can be obtained without fine tuning by imposing soft bounds, but this improvement is only linear with respect to the number of synaptic states. We explored several other possibilities and conclude that improving memory performance requires a more radical modification of the standard model of memory storage.

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Figure 1: Distributions F of strength for synapses potentiated by the tracked memory and constrained by hard bounds.
Figure 2: Memory performance with hard bounds.
Figure 3: Soft bounds.
Figure 4: Memory performance with generalized soft boundaries.
Figure 5: Optimal soft-boundaries.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to M. Mattia for useful discussions about Brownian particles in periodic potentials. This research was supported by US National Institute of Mental Health grant 58754 and by a US National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, through grant number 5-DP1-OD114-02.

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  1. Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Kolb Research Annex, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, 10032-2695, New York, USA

    Stefano Fusi & L F Abbott

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  1. Stefano Fusi
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Correspondence to L F Abbott.

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Fusi, S., Abbott, L. Limits on the memory storage capacity of bounded synapses. Nat Neurosci 10, 485–493 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1859

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