 Associative memory in neural networks

An associative memory retrieves a stored pattern from a related cue. An incomplete cue supplies only some coordinates; a corrupted cue supplies some wrong coordinates. A Hopfield network implements retrieval by making intended patterns stable states with surrounding basins of attraction. This turns correction into a collective computation: no unit needs to know the entire desired answer. A cue outside the appropriate basin of attraction can retrieve another pattern or an unintended stable state.