Associative Memory

Ask about this topic

Overview

Associative memory asks how a system can store information so that a cue brings back a related pattern, fact, or sequence, a problem central to neural memory and efficient AI. Classical Hopfield networks, dense and kernel associative memories, and Hebbian learning use attractor dynamics or similarity-based retrieval; newer recurrent and linear-attention models add sparse key-value stores, while agent systems use linked episodic memories. Theory examines capacity, retrieval basins, stability, and interference, while experiments test noisy pattern completion, long-range recall, language-model memory, and hardware implementations. A persistent tension is that more storage does not guarantee reliable, selective recall: finite state and overlapping representations can cause interference, forgetting, and false associations, even as explicit retrieval improves access at added cost.

Latest papers

CardsList

120 papers16 papers in the last four weeks, down 16% on the four weeks before. 0.1% of all new papers.

  1. Algorithmic Analysis of Dense Associative Memory: Finite-Size Guarantees and Adversarial Robustness

    Apr 14, 2026Madhava GaikwadAssociative MemoryNeural Network Robustness

    Independent Researcher

  2. Beyond LLMs, Sparse Distributed Memory, and Neuromorphics <A Hyper-Dimensional SRAM-CAM "VaCoAl" for Ultra-High Speed, Ultra-Low Power, and Low Cost>

    Apr 13, 2026Hiroyuki Chuma, Kanji Otsuka, Yoichi SatoAssociative MemoryHyperdimensional Computing

    Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University · Professor Emeritus, Meisei University · Shuhari System

  3. Breaking the KV Cache Bottleneck: Fan Duality Model Achieves O(1) Decode Memory with Superior Associative Recall

    Apr 9, 2026Yasong FanLLM Inference AccelerationAssociative Memory

    Independent Researcher

  4. Geometric Entropy and Retrieval Phase Transitions in Continuous Thermal Dense Associative Memory

    Apr 8, 2026Tatiana Petrova, Evgeny Polyachenko, Radu StateAssociative MemoryHopfield Networks

    Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), University of Luxembourg, 29 Avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg.

  5. Energy-Based Dynamical Models for Neurocomputation, Learning, and Optimization

    Apr 6, 2026Arthur N. Montanari, Francesco Bullo, Dmitry Krotov +1Energy-Based ModelsNeural Network Optimization

    Center for Network Dynamics and the Department of Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA · Center for Control, Dynamical Systems, and Computation and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA · Independent Researcher, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA +1

  6. Phase-Associative Memory: Sequence Modeling in Complex Hilbert Space

    Apr 6, 2026Gowrav Vishwakarma, Christopher J. AgostinoAutoregressive Language ModelingComplex-Valued Neural Networks

    Xavoc Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., https: // xavoc. com , India · NPC Worldwide, Bloomington, Indiana 47403, USA

  7. Oscillator-Based Associative Memory with Exponential Capacity: Theory, Algorithms, and Hardware Implementation

    Apr 1, 2026Arie Ogranovich, Taosha Guo, Arvind R. Venkatakrishnan +3Kuramoto ModelAssociative Memory

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, 93106, USA · Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

  8. Associative-State Universal Transformers: Sparse Retrieval Meets Structured Recurrence

    Apr 1, 2026Liu XiaoRecurrent TransformersAutoregressive Language Modeling

    Liu Xiao

  9. Human-Like Lifelong Memory: A Neuroscience-Grounded Architecture for Infinite Interaction

    Mar 30, 2026Diego C. Lerma-TorresPersistent Memory for Language ModelsLong-Term Conversational Memory

    Universidad de Guanajuato

  10. The Price of Meaning: Why Every Semantic Memory System Forgets

    Mar 28, 2026Sambartha Ray Barman, Andrey Starenky, Sofia Bodnar +2Semantic SearchAssociative Memory

    Sentra, 235 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA · Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

  11. Sharp Capacity Scaling of Spectral Optimizers in Learning Associative Memory

    Mar 27, 2026Juno Kim, Eshaan Nichani, Denny Wu +2Spectral OptimizationNeural Network Optimization

    UC Berkeley · Princeton University · New York University +1

  12. On associative neural networks for sparse patterns with huge capacities

    Mar 27, 2026Matthias Löwe, Franck VermetAssociative MemoryHopfield Networks

  13. The Geometry of Forgetting

    Mar 27, 2026Sambartha Ray Barman, Andrey Starenky, Sophia Bodnar +2Associative MemoryCognitive Modeling

    Sentra, 235 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA · Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

  14. Associative Memory using Attribute-Specific Neuron Groups-2: Learning and Sequential Associative Recall between Cue Neurons for different Cue Balls

    Mar 26, 2026Hiroshi InazawaAssociative MemoryModular Neural Networks

    Center for Education in Information Systems, Kobe Shoin Women’s University１, 1-2-1 Shinohara-Obanoyama, Nada Kobe 657-0015, Japan.

  15. Mixture of Chapters: Scaling Learnt Memory in Transformers

    Mar 22, 2026Tasmay Pankaj Tibrewal, Pritish Saha, Ankit Meda +2Memory-Augmented Language ModelsPersistent Memory for Language Models

    IIT Kharagpur · Fractal AI

  16. Sinkhorn Based Associative Memory Retrieval Using Spherical Hellinger Kantorovich Dynamics

    Mar 21, 2026Aratrika Mustafi, Soumya MukherjeeSinkhorn DivergenceAssociative Memory

    Department of Statistics, Pennsylvania State University

  17. Hybrid Associative Memories

    Mar 20, 2026Leon Lufkin, Tomás Figliolia, Beren Millidge +1Associative MemoryRecurrent Transformers

    1Zyphra

  18. From Topic to Transition Structure: Unsupervised Concept Discovery at Corpus Scale via Predictive Associative Memory

    Mar 19, 2026Jason DuryUnsupervised Visual Concept DiscoveryText Clustering

    Independent Researcher

  19. Attractor-Keyed Memory

    Mar 17, 2026Natalia G. BerloffAssociative Memory

    Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom

  20. Thermal Robustness of Retrieval in Dense Associative Memories: LSE vs LSR Kernels

    Mar 7, 2026Tatiana PetrovaAssociative MemoryRetrieval Robustness

    Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust · Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), University of Luxembourg

  21. A Miniature Brain Transformer: Thalamic Gating, Hippocampal Lateralization, Amygdaloid Salience, and Prefrontal Working Memory in Attention-Coupled Latent Memory

    Mar 7, 2026Hong JeongMemory-Augmented Neural NetworksCognitive Modeling

    Department of Computer Information Engineering, Inha University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  22. A Dynamical Theory of Sequential Retrieval in Input-Driven Hopfield Networks

    Mar 3, 2026Simone Betteti, Giacomo Baggio, Sandro ZampieriHopfield NetworksAssociative Memory

    The Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Industry · Department of Information Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova

  23. Look Forward to Walk Backward: Efficient Terrain Memory for Backward Locomotion with Forward Vision

    Mar 3, 2026Shixin Luo, Songbo Li, Yuan Hao +4Robot LocomotionLegged Robotics

    The authors are with Institute of Cyber-Systems and Control, Zhejiang University, 310027, China. · The author is with College of Artificial Intelligence, Nankai University, 300350, China. · The author is with Hangzhou Public Library, 310016, China.

  24. Inhibitory Cross-Talk Enables Functional Lateralization in Attention-Coupled Latent Memory

    Feb 27, 2026Hong JeongMemory-Augmented Neural NetworksEpisodic Memory

    Department of Computer Information Engineering, Inha University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  25. Drift-Diffusion Matching: Embedding dynamics in latent manifolds of asymmetric neural networks

    Feb 16, 2026Ramón Nartallo-Kaluarachchi, Renaud Lambiotte, Alain GorielyRecurrent Neural NetworksDynamical Systems

    Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom · Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, 7 Stoke Pl, Oxford, OX3 9BX, United Kingdom · Complexity Science Hub, Metternichgasse 8, Vienna, 1030, Austria

  26. RAM-Net: Linear-Time Sequence Modeling with Sparsely Addressable State

    Feb 12, 2026Kaicheng Xiao, Haotian Li, Liran Dong +1Memory-Augmented Neural NetworksLong-Context Language Modeling

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong

  27. Distributed Dynamic Associative Memory via Online Convex Optimization

    Nov 28, 2025Bowen Wang, Matteo Zecchin, Osvaldo SimeoneOnline Convex OptimizationAssociative Memory

    Department of Engineering, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, U.K. · Communication Systems Department, EURECOM, 06904 Sophia Antipolis, France · Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems (INSI) at Northeastern University London, London E1 8PH, U.K.

  28. Redundancy Maximization as a Principle of Associative Memory Learning in Hopfield Networks

    Nov 4, 2025Mark Blümel, Andreas C. Schneider, Valentin Neuhaus +5Neural Network MemorizationHopfield Networks

    Complex Systems Theory, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany · Faculty of Physics, Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Systems, University of Göttingen · Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany +1

  29. Dynamical stability for dense patterns in attractor neural networks

    Jul 14, 2025Uri Cohen, Máté LengyelNeural Network MemorizationAssociative Memory

    Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK · Center for Cognitive Computation, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

  30. One-shot learning of paired association navigation with biologically plausible schemas

    Jun 7, 2021M Ganesh Kumar, Cheston Tan, Camilo Libedinsky +2Few-Shot LearningKnowledge Representation

    Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme, NUS Graduate School, National University of Singapore · The N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore · Engineering Design and Innovation Centre, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore +8