Robustness of retrieval properties against imbalance between long-term potentiation and depression of spike-timing-dependent plasticity.

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) has recently been shown in some physiological studies. STDP depends on the precise temporal relationship of presynaptic and postsynaptic spikes. Many authors have indicated that a precise balance between long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of STDP is significant for a stable learning. However, a situation in which the balance is maintained precisely is inconceivable in the brain. Using a method of the statistical neurodynamics, we show robust retrieval properties of spatiotemporal patterns in an associative memory model against the imbalance between LTP and LTD. When the fluctuation of LTD is assumed to obey a Gaussian distribution with mean 0 and variance delta(2), the storage capacity takes a finite value even at large delta. This means that the balance between LTP and LTD of STDP need not be maintained precisely, but must be maintained on average. Furthermore, we found that the basin of attraction becomes smaller as delta increases while an initial critical overlap remains unchanged.