Interactive activation and competition (IAC) networks are
artificial neural networks used to model
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...
and intuitive generalizations. They are made up of nodes or
artificial neuron
An artificial neuron is a mathematical function conceived as a model of biological neurons, a neural network. Artificial neurons are elementary units in an artificial neural network. The artificial neuron receives one or more inputs (representing ...
s which are arrayed and activated in ways that emulate the behaviors of human memory.
The IAC model is used by the parallel distributed processing (PDP) Group and is associated with James L. McClelland and David E. Rumelhart; it is described in detail in their book ''Explorations in Parallel Distributed Processing: A Handbook of Models, Programs, and Exercises''. This model does not contradict any currently known biological data or theories, and its performance is close enough to human performance as to warrant further investigation.
References
External links
A tribute to interactive activationVideo overview of IAC networks and a description of how to build them using free software.
Artificial neural networks
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