Seminar · Computational Neuroscience
Learning to Oscillate: Hebbian Plasticity Imprints Limit Cycles in Neural Networks
Pierfrancesco Urbani · IPhT, Saclay
Wed, Nov 4, 2026 · 16:00 UTC
A high-dimensional nonlinear recurrent neural network is driven by periodic, incoherent inputs while its synapses undergo Hebbian-like plasticity. Depending on drive and plasticity strengths, the network can retain autonomous limit-cycle activity after both the inputs and learning are removed. Dynamical mean-field theory and finite-size simulations characterize the resulting rhythmic memories and transitions between chaotic, fixed-point and oscillatory regimes. Memory robustness depends on the interval between removing the input and stopping plasticity. These results suggest a mechanism by whi