  We consider different ways to control the magnification in self-organizing
maps (SOM) and neural gas (NG). Starting from early approaches of magnification
control in vector quantization, we then concentrate on different approaches for
SOM and NG. We show that three structurally similar approaches can be applied
to both algorithms: localized learning, concave-convex learning, and winner
relaxing learning. Thereby, the approach of concave-convex learning in SOM is
extended to a more general description, whereas the concave-convex learning for
NG is new. In general, the control mechanisms generate only slightly different
behavior comparing both neural algorithms. However, we emphasize that the NG
results are valid for any data dimension, whereas in the SOM case the results
hold only for the one-dimensional case.
