Adjusting the neurons models in neuromimetic ICs using the voltage-clamp technique

Abstract

This paper presents an original method to tune a neuromimetic IC based on neuron conductance-based models (Hodgkin-Huxley formalism). This method is well known in electrophysiology as the "voltage-clamp" technique. It consists in measuring the neural conductances while holding the membrane voltage at a clamped level. The voltage- and time- dependent variables of the conductance equations are then interpolated from the measurements. We apply this technique on the neuromimetic IC to extract the exact parameters of the neuron model. This model is computed in software, and results are compared with the hardware simulation. We conclude by mentioning the potential applications of this technique in hardware simulation systems based on neuromimetic ASICs.