The Connectivity Analysis of Simple Association

The Connectivity Analysis of Simple Association - or-How Many Connections Do You Need! Oregon Graduate Center, Beaverton, OR 97006 ABSTRACT The efficient realization, using current silicon technology, of Very Large Connection Networks (VLCN) with more than a billion connections requires that these networks exhibit a high degree of communication locality. Real neural networks exhibit significant locality, yet most connectionist/neural network models have little. In this paper, the connectivity requirements of a simple associative network are analyzed using communication theory. Several techniques based on communication theory are presented that improve the robustness of the network in the face of sparse, local interconnect structures. Also discussed are some potential problems when information is distributed too widely. INTRODUCTION Connectionist/neural network researchers are learning to program networks that exhibit a broad range of cognitive behavior.