In this paper, a fractional-order recurrent neural network is proposed and several topics related to the dynamics of such a network are investigated, such as the stability, Hopf bifurcations, and undamped oscillations. The stability domain of the trivial steady state is completely characterized with respect to network parameters and orders of the commensurate-order neural network. Based on the stability analysis, the critical values of the fractional order are identified, where Hopf bifurcations occur and a family of oscillations bifurcate from the trivial steady state.

Then, the parametric range of undamped oscillations is also estimated and the frequency and amplitude of oscillations are determined analytically and numerically for such commensurate-order networks. Meanwhile, it is shown that the incommensurate-order neural network can also exhibit a Hopf bifurcation as the network parameter passes through a critical value which can be determined exactly. The frequency and amplitude of bifurcated oscillations are determined.