Multistability and fixed-time multisynchronization of switched neural networks with state-dependent switching rules

This paper presents theoretical results on the multistability and fixed-time synchronization of switched neural networks with multiple almost-periodic solutions and state-dependent switching rules. It is shown herein that the number, location, and stability of the almost-periodic solutions of the switched neural networks can be characterized by making use of the state-space partition. Two sets of sufficient conditions are derived to ascertain the existence of 3n exponentially stable almost-periodic solutions. Subsequently, this paper introduces the novel concept of fixed-time multisynchronization in switched neural networks associated with a range of almost-periodic parameters within multiple stable equilibrium states for the first time. Based on the multistability results, it is demonstrated that there are 3n synchronization manifolds, wherein n is the number of neurons. Additionally, an estimation for the settling time required for drive-response switched neural networks to achieve synchronization is provided. It should be noted that this paper considers stable equilibrium points (static multisynchronization), stable almost-periodic orbits (dynamical multisynchronization), and hybrid stable equilibrium states (hybrid multisynchronization) as special cases of multistability (multisynchronization). Two numerical examples are elaborated to substantiate the theoretical results.

An Overview of the Stability Analysis of Recurrent Neural Networks With Multiple Equilibria

The stability analysis of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with multiple equilibria has received extensive interest since it is a prerequisite for successful applications of RNNs. With the increasing theoretical results on this topic, it is desirable to review the results for a systematical understanding of the state of the art. This article provides an overview of the stability results of RNNs with multiple equilibria including complete stability and multistability. First, preliminaries on the complete stability and multistability analysis of RNNs are introduced. Second, the complete stability results of RNNs are summarized. Third, the multistability results of various RNNs are reviewed in detail. Finally, future directions in these interesting topics are suggested.

Delayed Impulsive Control for Lag Synchronization of Delayed Neural Networks Involving Partial Unmeasurable States

In the framework of impulsive control, this article deals with the lag synchronization problem of neural networks involving partially unmeasurable states, where the time delay in impulses is fully addressed. Since the complexity of external environment and uncertainty of networks, which may lead to a result that the information of partial states is unmeasurable, the key problem for lag synchronization control is how to utilize the information of measurable states to design suitable impulsive control. By using linear matrix inequality (LMI) and transition matrix method coupled with dimension expansion technique, some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee lag synchronization, where the requirement for information of all states is needless. Moreover, our proposed conditions not only allow the existence of unmeasurable states but also reduce the restrictions on the number of measurable states, which shows the generality of our results and wide-application in practice. Finally, two illustrative examples and their numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of main results.

Pinning multisynchronization of delayed fractional-order memristor-based neural networks with nonlinear coupling and almost-periodic perturbations

This paper concerns the multisynchronization issue for delayed fractional-order memristor-based neural networks with nonlinear coupling and almost-periodic perturbations. First, the coexistence of multiple equilibrium states for isolated subnetwork is analyzed. By means of state-space decomposition, fractional-order Halanay inequality and Caputo derivative properties, the novel algebraic sufficient conditions are derived to ensure that the addressed networks with arbitrary activation functions have multiple locally stable almost periodic orbits or equilibrium points. Then, based on the obtained multistability results, a pinning control strategy is designed to realize the multisynchronization of the N coupled networks. By the aid of graph theory, depth first search method and pinning control law, some sufficient conditions are formulated such that the considered neural networks can possess multiple synchronization manifolds. Finally, the multistability and multisynchronization performance of the considered neural networks with different activation functions are illustrated by numerical examples.

Multistability and associative memory of neural networks with Morita-like activation functions

This paper presents the multistability analysis and associative memory of neural networks (NNs) with Morita-like activation functions. In order to seek larger memory capacity, this paper proposes Morita-like activation functions. In a weakened condition, this paper shows that the NNs with n-neurons have (2m+1)ⁿ equilibrium points (Eps) and (m+1)ⁿ of them are locally exponentially stable, where the parameter m depends on the Morita-like activation functions, called Morita parameter. Also the attraction basins are estimated based on the state space partition. Moreover, this paper applies these NNs into associative memories (AMs). Compared with the previous related works, the number of Eps and AM's memory capacity are extensively increased. The simulation results are illustrated and some reliable associative memories examples are shown at the end of this paper.

Monostability and Multistability for Almost-Periodic Solutions of Fractional-Order Neural Networks With Unsaturating Piecewise Linear Activation Functions

Since the unsaturating activation function is unbounded, more complex dynamics may exist in neural networks with this kind of activation function. In this article, monostability and multistability results of almost-periodic solutions are developed for fractional-order neural networks with unsaturating piecewise linear activation functions. Some globally Mittag-Leffler attractive sets are given, and the existence of globally Mittag-Leffler stable almost-periodic solution is demonstrated by using Ascoli-Arzela theorem. In particular, some sufficient conditions are provided to ascertain the multistability of almost-periodic solutions based on locally positively invariant set. It shows that there exists an almost-periodic solution in each positively invariant set, and all trajectories converge to this periodic trajectory in that rectangular area. Two illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed sufficient criteria.

Multistability of Almost Periodic Solution for Memristive Cohen-Grossberg Neural Networks With Mixed Delays

This paper presents the multistability analysis of almost periodic state solutions for memristive Cohen-Grossberg neural networks (MCGNNs) with both distributed delay and discrete delay. The activation function of the considered MCGNNs is generalized to be nonmonotonic and nonpiecewise linear. It is shown that the MCGNNs with n -neuron have (K+1)ⁿ locally exponentially stable almost periodic solutions, where nature number K depends on the geometrical structure of the considered activation function. Compared with the previous related works, the number of almost periodic state solutions of the MCGNNs is extensively increased. The obtained conclusions in this paper are also capable of studying the multistability of equilibrium points or periodic solutions of the MCGNNs. Moreover, the enlarged attraction basins of attractors are estimated based on original partition. Some comparisons and convincing numerical examples are provided to substantiate the superiority and efficiency of obtained results.

Multistability of Switched Neural Networks With Piecewise Linear Activation Functions Under State-Dependent Switching

This paper is concerned with the multistability of switched neural networks with piecewise linear activation functions under state-dependent switching. Under some reasonable assumptions on the switching threshold and activation functions, by using the state-space decomposition method, contraction mapping theorem, and strictly diagonally dominant matrix theory, we can characterize the number of equilibria as well as analyze the stability/instability of the equilibria. More interesting, we can find that the switching threshold plays an important role for stable equilibria in the unsaturation regions of activation functions, and the number of stable equilibria of an n -neuron switched neural network with state-dependent parameters increases to 3ⁿ from 2ⁿ in the conventional one. Furthermore, for two-neuron switched neural networks, the precise attraction basin of each stable equilibrium point can be figured out, and its boundary is composed of the stable manifolds of unstable equilibrium points and the switching lines. Two simulation examples are discussed in detail to substantiate the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.

Theoretical Study of Oscillator Neurons in Recurrent Neural Networks

Neurons in a network can be both active or inactive. Given a subset of neurons in a network, is it possible for the subset of neurons to evolve to form an active oscillator by applying some external periodic stimulus? Furthermore, can these oscillator neurons be observable, that is, is it a stable oscillator? This paper explores such possibility, finding that an important property: any subset of neurons can be intermittently co-activated to form a stable oscillator by applying some external periodic input without any condition. Thus, the existing of intermittently active oscillator neurons is an essential property possessed by the networks. Moreover, this paper shows that, under some conditions, a subset of neurons can be fully co-activated to form a stable oscillator. Such neurons are called selectable oscillator neurons. Necessary and sufficient conditions are established for a subset of neurons to be selectable oscillator neurons in linear threshold recurrent neuron networks. It is proved that a subset of neurons forms selectable oscillator neurons if and only if the real part of each eigenvalue of the associated synaptic connection weight submatrix of the network is not larger than one. This simple condition makes the concept of selectable oscillator neurons tractable. The selectable oscillator neurons can be regarded as memories stored in the synaptic connections of networks, which enables to find a new perspective of memories in neural networks, different from the equilibrium-type attractors.

Impulsive Multisynchronization of Coupled Multistable Neural Networks With Time-Varying Delay

This paper studies the synchronization problem of coupled delayed multistable neural networks (NNs) with directed topology. To begin with, several sufficient conditions are developed in terms of algebraic inequalities such that every subnetwork has multiple locally exponentially stable periodic orbits or equilibrium points. Then two new concepts named dynamical multisynchronization (DMS) and static multisynchronization (SMS) are introduced to describe the two novel kinds of synchronization manifolds. Using the impulsive control strategy and the Razumikhin-type technique, some sufficient conditions for both the DMS and the SMS of the controlled coupled delayed multistable NNs with fixed and switching topologies are derived, respectively. Simulation examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.

Global Mittag-Leffler Stabilization of Fractional-Order Memristive Neural Networks

According to conventional memristive neural network theories, neurodynamic properties are powerful tools for solving many problems in the areas of brain-like associative learning, dynamic information storage or retrieval, etc. However, as have often been noted in most fractional-order systems, system analysis approaches for integral-order systems could not be directly extended and applied to deal with fractional-order systems, and consequently, it raises difficult issues in analyzing and controlling the fractional-order memristive neural networks. By using the set-valued maps and fractional-order differential inclusions, then aided by a newly proposed fractional derivative inequality, this paper investigates the global Mittag-Leffler stabilization for a class of fractional-order memristive neural networks. Two types of control rules (i.e., state feedback stabilizing control and output feedback stabilizing control) are designed for the stabilization of fractional-order memristive neural networks, while a list of stabilization criteria is established. Finally, two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and characteristics of the obtained theoretical results.

Dynamical Behaviors of Multiple Equilibria in Competitive Neural Networks With Discontinuous Nonmonotonic Piecewise Linear Activation Functions

This paper addresses the problem of coexistence and dynamical behaviors of multiple equilibria for competitive neural networks. First, a general class of discontinuous nonmonotonic piecewise linear activation functions is introduced for competitive neural networks. Then based on the fixed point theorem and theory of strict diagonal dominance matrix, it is shown that under some conditions, such n -neuron competitive neural networks can have 5(n) equilibria, among which 3(n) equilibria are locally stable and the others are unstable. More importantly, it is revealed that the neural networks with the discontinuous activation functions introduced in this paper can have both more total equilibria and locally stable equilibria than the ones with other activation functions, such as the continuous Mexican-hat-type activation function and discontinuous two-level activation function. Furthermore, the 3(n) locally stable equilibria given in this paper are located in not only saturated regions, but also unsaturated regions, which is different from the existing results on multistability of neural networks with multiple level activation functions. A simulation example is provided to illustrate and validate the theoretical findings.

Multistability and Instability of Neural Networks With Discontinuous Nonmonotonic Piecewise Linear Activation Functions

In this paper, we discuss the coexistence and dynamical behaviors of multiple equilibrium points for recurrent neural networks with a class of discontinuous nonmonotonic piecewise linear activation functions. It is proved that under some conditions, such n -neuron neural networks can have at least 5(n) equilibrium points, 3(n) of which are locally stable and the others are unstable, based on the contraction mapping theorem and the theory of strict diagonal dominance matrix. The investigation shows that the neural networks with the discontinuous activation functions introduced in this paper can have both more total equilibrium points and more locally stable equilibrium points than the ones with continuous Mexican-hat-type activation function or discontinuous two-level activation functions. An illustrative example with computer simulations is presented to verify the theoretical analysis.

Attractivity analysis of memristor-based cellular neural networks with time-varying delays

This paper presents new theoretical results on the invariance and attractivity of memristor-based cellular neural networks (MCNNs) with time-varying delays. First, sufficient conditions to assure the boundedness and global attractivity of the networks are derived. Using state-space decomposition and some analytic techniques, it is shown that the number of equilibria located in the saturation regions of the piecewise-linear activation functions of an n-neuron MCNN with time-varying delays increases significantly from 2(n) to 2(2n2)+n) (2(2n2) times) compared with that without a memristor. In addition, sufficient conditions for the invariance and local or global attractivity of equilibria or attractive sets in any designated region are derived. Finally, two illustrative examples are given to elaborate the characteristics of the results in detail.

Multistability of two kinds of recurrent neural networks with activation functions symmetrical about the origin on the phase plane

In this paper, we investigate multistability of two kinds of recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays and activation functions symmetrical about the origin on the phase plane. One kind of activation function is with zero slope at the origin on the phase plane, while the other is with nonzero slope at the origin on the phase plane. We derive sufficient conditions under which these two kinds of n-dimensional recurrent neural networks are guaranteed to have (2m+1)(n) equilibrium points, with (m+1)(n) of them being locally exponentially stable. These new conditions improve and extend the existing multistability results for recurrent neural networks. Finally, the validity and performance of the theoretical results are demonstrated through two numerical examples.

Multistability of neural networks with Mexican-hat-type activation functions

In this paper, we are concerned with a class of neural networks with Mexican-hat-type activation functions. Due to the different structure from neural networks with saturated activation functions, a set of new sufficient conditions are presented to study the multistability, including the total number of equilibrium points, their locations, and stability. Furthermore, the attraction basins of stable equilibrium points are investigated for two-neuron neural networks. The investigation shows that the stable manifolds of unstable equilibrium points constitute the boundaries of attraction basins of stable equilibrium points. Several illustrative examples are given to verify the effectiveness of our results.

Multistability of neural networks with time-varying delays and concave-convex characteristics

In this paper, stability of multiple equilibria of neural networks with time-varying delays and concave-convex characteristics is formulated and studied. Some sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure that an n-neuron neural network with concave-convex characteristics can have a fixed point located in the appointed region. By means of an appropriate partition of the n-dimensional state space, when nonlinear activation functions of an n-neuron neural network are concave or convex in 2k+2m-1 intervals, this neural network can have (2k+2m-1)n equilibrium points. This result can be applied to the multiobjective optimal control and associative memory. In particular, several succinct criteria are given to ascertain multistability of cellular neural networks. These stability conditions are the improvement and extension of the existing stability results in the literature. A numerical example is given to illustrate the theoretical findings via computer simulations.

Existence and uniqueness of pseudo almost-periodic solutions of recurrent neural networks with time-varying coefficients and mixed delays

This paper is concerned with the existence and uniqueness of pseudo almost-periodic solutions to recurrent delayed neural networks. Several conditions guaranteeing the existence and uniqueness of such solutions are obtained in a suitable convex domain. Furthermore, several methods are applied to establish sufficient criteria for the globally exponential stability of this system. The approaches are based on constructing suitable Lyapunov functionals and the well-known Banach contraction mapping principle. Moreover, the attractivity and exponential stability of the pseudo almost-periodic solution are also considered for the system. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our results.