  We study analytically the effect of metrically structured connectivity on the
behavior of autoassociative networks. We focus on three simple rate-based model
neurons: threshold-linear, binary or smoothly saturating units. For a
connectivity which is short range enough the threshold-linear network shows
localized retrieval states. The saturating and binary models also exhibit
spatially modulated retrieval states if the highest activity level that they
can achieve is above the maximum activity of the units in the stored patterns.
In the zero quenched noise limit, we derive an analytical formula for the
critical value of the connectivity width below which one observes spatially
non-uniform retrieval states. Localization reduces storage capacity, but only
by a factor of 2~3. The approach that we present here is generic in the sense
that there are no specific assumptions on the single unit input-output function
nor on the exact connectivity structure.
