Asymptotic values of solutions to a periodic linear difference equation modeling discrimination training

Abstract

This work is concerned with the study of $w(mT)$ as $m$ goes to infinity, where $w(t)$ evolves according to $w(t)-w(t-1)=F(t)-A(t)w(t-1)$, and where $T$ is the period of the vector $F(t)$ and the matrix $A(t)$. Motivated by applications to associative learning, particularly to discrimination training, extra conditions are imposed on $F(t)$ and $A(t)$, one of them relating $A(t)$ to a symmetric non-negative definite matrix $K$ relevant to mathematical models of associative learning. Structural relationships between the matrices imply an identity satisfied by the Floquet multipliers driving the dynamics of $w(mT)$ from which follows that the unstable subspace is $\ker K$. Then, the limit of $w(mT)$ is explicitly identified when $K$ is invertible, while the limit of $Kw(mT)$ is established otherwise. Given that divergence of $w(mT)$ can happen when $K$ is singular, while $Kw(mT)$ is the psychologically relevant quantity, the result can be considered optimal.