Self-organizing Maps with Homogeneous Refractory Periods

Self-organizing map (SOM) has been studied as a model of map formation in the brain cortex. However, the original model present several oversimplifications. For example, neurons in the cortex present a refractory period in which they are not able to be activated, restriction that should be included in the SOM if a better model is to be achieved. Although several modifications have been studied in order to include this biological restriction to the SOM, they do not reflect biological plausibility. Here, we present a modification in the SOM that allows neurons to enter a refractory period (SOM-RP) if they are the best matching unit (BMU) or if they belong to its neighborhood. This refractory period is the same for all affected neurons, which contrasts with previous models. By including this biological restriction, SOM dynamics resembles in more detail the behavior shown by the cortex, such as non-radial activity patterns and long distance influence, besides the refractory period. As a side effect, two error measures are lower in maps formed by SOM-RP than in those formed by