title: Optic nerve signals in a neuromorphic chip I: Outer and inner retina models.
abstract: We present a novel model for the mammalian retina and analyze its behavior. Our outer retina model performs bandpass spatiotemporal filtering. It is comprised of two reciprocally connected resistive grids that model the cone and horizontal cell syncytia. We show analytically that its sensitivity is proportional to the space-constant-ratio of the two grids while its half-max response is set by the local average intensity. Thus, this outer retina model realizes luminance adaptation. Our inner retina model performs high-pass temporal filtering. It features slow negative feedback whose strength is modulated by a locally computed measure of temporal contrast, modeling two kinds of amacrine cells, one narrow-field, the other wide-field. We show analytically that, when the input is spectrally pure, the corner-frequency tracks the input frequency. But when the input is broadband, the corner frequency is proportional to contrast. Thus, this inner retina model realizes temporal frequency adaptation as well as contrast gain control. We present CMOS circuit designs for our retina model in this paper as well. Experimental measurements from the fabricated chip, and validation of our analytical results, are presented in the companion paper [Zaghloul and Boahen (2004)].
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. kazaghloul@uphs.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Kareem A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Zaghloul
authors.forename: Kwabena
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boahen
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004581:Electronics; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008904:Miniaturization; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000502:physiology; D012666:Semiconductors; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*