Contrastive Learning in Memristor-based Neuromorphic Systems

Abstract: Spiking neural networks, the third generation of artificial neural networks, have become an important family of neuron-based models that sidestep many of the key limitations facing modern-day backpropagation-trained deep networks, including their high energy inefficiency and long-criticized biological implausibility. In this work, we design and investigate a proof-of-concept instantiation of contrastive-signal-dependent plasticity (CSDP), a neuromorphic form of forward-forward-based, backpropagation-free learning. Our experimental simulations demonstrate that a hardware implementation of CSDP is capable of learning simple logic functions without the need to resort to complex gradient calculations.