title: A directionally-selective neuromorphic circuit based on reciprocal synapses in Starburst Amacrine Cells.
abstract: Starburst Amacrine Cells (SACs) play a major role in the detection of directional motion in the biological retina. The starburst amacrine cell has intrinsic electrical mechanisms for producing directional selectivity (DS). GABA transmitter-receptor interactions between two overlapping SACs make DS more robust. We present a compartmentalized CMOS neuromorphic circuit that models a portion of two biological starburst amacrine cells in the retina and includes a simplified model of reciprocal interaction between the dendritic branches of SACs. We demonstrate that a neuromorphic circuit incorporating the reciprocal synapses enhances the responses in the neuromorphic dendritic tip and generates robust directional selectivity.
authors.affiliation: Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering University of Southern California, USA.
authors.forename: Ko-Chung
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Alice C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joshi
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D025042:Amacrine Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*