According to embodiments of the invention, a
system, method and
computer program product producing spike-dependent
plasticity in an artificial
synapse. In an embodiment, a method includes: receiving a pre-synaptic spike in an
electronic component; receiving a post-synaptic spike in the
electronic component; in response to the pre-synaptic spike, generating a pre-synaptic pulse that occurs a predetermined period of time after the received pre-synaptic spike; in response to the post-synaptic spike, generating a post-synaptic pulse that starts at a baseline value and reaches a first
voltage value a first period of time after the post-synaptic spike, followed by a second
voltage value a second period of time after the post synaptic spike, followed by a return to the baseline
voltage a third period of time after the post-synaptic spike; applying the generated pre-synaptic pulse to a pre-synaptic node of a
synaptic device that includes a uni-polar, two-terminal bi-stable device in series with a rectifying element; and applying the generated post-synaptic pulse to a post-synaptic node of the
synaptic device, wherein the
synaptic device changes from a first conductive state to a second conductive state based on the value of input voltage applied to its
pre and post-synaptic nodes, wherein the
resultant state of the conductance of the synaptic device after the pre- and post-synaptic pulses are applied thereto depends on the relative timing of the received pre-synaptic spike with respect to the post synaptic spike.