For those interested in studying the dynamics of networks with lateral/recurrent connections, Stephen Grossberg pretty much wrote the book on mathematically ana

For those interested in studying the dynamics of networks with lateral/recurrent connections, Stephen Grossberg pretty much wrote the book on mathematically analyzing these systems: http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Recurrent_neural_networks http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Recurrent_neural_network.... A number of really interesting properties emerge like automatic gain control and contrast enhancement when you include network properties similar to what is seen in the brain.