Collective stability of networks of winner-take-all circuits

The neocortex has a remarkably uniform neuronal organization, suggesting that common principles of processing are employed throughout its extent. In particular, the patterns of connectivity observed in the superficial layers of the visual cortex are consistent with the recurrent excitation and inhibitory feedback required for cooperative-competitive circuits such as the soft winner-take-all (WTA). WTA circuits offer interesting computational properties such as selective amplification, signal restoration, and decision making. But, these properties depend on the signal gain derived from positive feedback, and so there is a critical trade-off between providing feedback strong enough to support the sophisticated computations, while maintaining overall circuit stability. We consider the question of how to reason about stability in very large distributed networks of such circuits. We approach this problem by approximating the regular cortical architecture as many interconnected cooperative-competitive modules. We demonstrate that by properly understanding the behavior of this small computational module, one can reason over the stability and convergence of very large networks composed of these modules. We obtain parameter ranges in which the WTA circuit operates in a high-gain regime, is stable, and can be aggregated arbitrarily to form large stable networks. We use nonlinear Contraction Theory to establish conditions for stability in the fully nonlinear case, and verify these solutions using numerical simulations. The derived bounds allow modes of operation in which the WTA network is multi-stable and exhibits state-dependent persistent activities. Our approach is sufficiently general to reason systematically about the stability of any network, biological or technological, composed of networks of small modules that express competition through shared inhibition.Comment: 7 Figure

A delay-dependent LMI approach to dynamics analysis of discrete-time recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2007 Elsevier Ltd.In this Letter, the analysis problem for the existence and stability of periodic solutions is investigated for a class of general discrete-time recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays. For the neural networks under study, a generalized activation function is considered, and the traditional assumptions on the boundedness, monotony and differentiability of the activation functions are removed. By employing the latest free-weighting matrix method, an appropriate Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional is constructed and several sufficient conditions are established to ensure the existence, uniqueness, and globally exponential stability of the periodic solution for the addressed neural network. The conditions are dependent on both the lower bound and upper bound of the time-varying time delays. Furthermore, the conditions are expressed in terms of the linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which can be checked numerically using the effective LMI toolbox in MATLAB. Two simulation examples are given to show the effectiveness and less conservatism of the proposed criteria.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 50608072, an International Joint Project sponsored by the Royal Society of the UK and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Design of exponential state estimators for neural networks with mixed time delays

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2007 Elsevier Ltd.In this Letter, the state estimation problem is dealt with for a class of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with mixed discrete and distributed delays. The activation functions are assumed to be neither monotonic, nor differentiable, nor bounded. We aim at designing a state estimator to estimate the neuron states, through available output measurements, such that the dynamics of the estimation error is globally exponentially stable in the presence of mixed time delays. By using the Laypunov–Krasovskii functional, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to establish sufficient conditions to guarantee the existence of the state estimators. We show that both the existence conditions and the explicit expression of the desired estimator can be characterized in terms of the solution to an LMI. A simulation example is exploited to show the usefulness of the derived LMI-based stability conditions.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under Grant GR/S27658/01, the Nuffield Foundation of the UK under Grant NAL/00630/G, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Education Committee of China under Grants 05KJB110154 and BK2006064, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 10471119 and 10671172

Stability analysis for stochastic Cohen-Grossberg neural networks with mixed time delays

Copyright [2006] IEEE. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Brunel University's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.In this letter, the global asymptotic stability analysis problem is considered for a class of stochastic Cohen-Grossberg neural networks with mixed time delays, which consist of both the discrete and distributed time delays. Based on an Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and the stochastic stability analysis theory, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive several sufficient conditions guaranteeing the global asymptotic convergence of the equilibrium point in the mean square. It is shown that the addressed stochastic Cohen-Grossberg neural networks with mixed delays are globally asymptotically stable in the mean square if two LMIs are feasible, where the feasibility of LMIs can be readily checked by the Matlab LMI toolbox. It is also pointed out that the main results comprise some existing results as special cases. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed global stability criteria

Robust stability for stochastic Hopfield neural networks with time delays

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.In this paper, the asymptotic stability analysis problem is considered for a class of uncertain stochastic neural networks with time delays and parameter uncertainties. The delays are time-invariant, and the uncertainties are norm-bounded that enter into all the network parameters. The aim of this paper is to establish easily verifiable conditions under which the delayed neural network is robustly asymptotically stable in the mean square for all admissible parameter uncertainties. By employing a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and conducting the stochastic analysis, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive the stability criteria. The proposed criteria can be checked readily by using some standard numerical packages, and no tuning of parameters is required. Examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed criteria.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under Grant GR/S27658/01, the Nuffield Foundation of the UK under Grant NAL/00630/G, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of German

Almost periodic solutions of retarded SICNNs with functional response on piecewise constant argument

We consider a new model for shunting inhibitory cellular neural networks, retarded functional differential equations with piecewise constant argument. The existence and exponential stability of almost periodic solutions are investigated. An illustrative example is provided.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur