Neuromorphic synapse apparatus 11 comprises a memelement 20 for storing a synaptic weight, and programming logic 21. The memelement 20 is adapted to exhibit a desired programming characteristic. The programming logic 21 is responsive to a stimulus prompting update of the synaptic weight for generating a programming signal for programming the memelement 20 to update said weight. The programming logic 21 may be responsive to an input signal indicating an input weight-change value ΔWi, and may be adapted to generate a programming signal dependent on the input weight-change value ΔWi. The programming logic 21 is adapted such that the programming signals exploit the programming characteristic of the memelement 20 to provide a desired weight-dependent synaptic update efficacy.