J Korean Neurol Assoc.  2000 Jan;18(1):44-49.

Effect of Synaptic Loss on Memory in a Neural Network Model

• Koh IS
• Park JW
• Choi BK
• Kim CK
• Yoon SH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In order to understand the pathogenesis and symptom development in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we attempted to develop a computer model for memory impairment in this study.
METHODS
We made a simple autoassocia-tive memory network, first developed by Hopfield, which remembers numbers or patterns, transformed it into an AD model by pruning synapses, and measured its memory performance as a function of synaptic deletion.
RESULTS
Decline in memory performance was measured as amount of synaptic loss increased and its mode of decline varied with different synaptic pruning methods.
CONCLUSIONS
The developed computer model demonstrated how synaptic loss could cause memory impairment through a series of computer simulations, and suggested a new way of research in AD.

Keyword

Alzheimer's disease; Computer model; Neural network; Synapse; Memory impairment

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease
Computer Simulation
Memory*
Neural Networks (Computer)*
Synapses