Spike-Timing Neuronal Modelling Of Forgetting In Immediate Serial Recall

Three major and often contradicting hypotheses regarding forgetting in instant sequential recall include the Time-based decay, Temporal distinctiveness and Interference. Here we will explore these hypotheses using the Spike-timing theory of working memory. We represent memory traces as spatiotemporal patterns of spikes called polychronous groups which behave according to short-term and long-term synaptic dynamics. In spite of their contradictions, we show that all three forgetting hypotheses can co-exist - yet each one can have a different degree of influence in the process of forgetting with interference having an immediate impact.