Associative memory properties of multiple cortical modules

The existence of recurrent collateral connections between pyramidal cells w ithin a cortical area and, in addition, reciprocal connections between conn ected cortical areas, is well established. In this work we analyse the prop erties of a tri-modular architecture of this type in which two input module s have convergent connections to a third module (which in the brain might b e the next module in cortical processing or a hi-modal area receiving conne ctions from two different processing pathways). Memory retrieval is analyse d in this system which has Hebb-like synaptic modifiability in the connecti ons and attractor states. Local activity features are stored in the intra-m odular connections while the associations between corresponding features in different modules present during training are stored in the inter-modular connections. The response of the network when tested with corresponding and contradictory stimuli to the two input pathways is studied in detail. The model is solved quantitatively using techniques of statistical physics. In one type of test, a sequence of stimuli is applied, with a delay between th em. It is found that if the coupling between the modules is low a regime ex ists in which they retain the capability to retrieve any of their stored fe atures independently of the features being retrieved by the other modules. Although independent in this sense, the modules still influence each other in this regime through persistent modulatory currents which are strong enou gh to initiate recall in the whole network when only a single module is sti mulated, and to raise the mean firing rates of the neurons in the attractor s if the features in the different modules are corresponding Some of these mechanisms might be useful for the description of many phenomena observed i n single neuron activity recorded during short term memory tasks such as de layed match-to-sample. It is also shown that with contradictory stimulation of the two input modules the model accounts for many of the phenomena obse rved in the McGurk effect, in which contradictory auditory and visual input s can lead to misperception.