Control of bursting properties in a silicon neuron CPG

Abstract

We have developed a silicon neuron based on a heart interneuron of the leech. We created a half-center oscillator composed of two silicon neurons connected via inhibitory synapses implemented through dynamic clamp. We investigated the effects of symmetrical variations of maximal conductances on bursting behavior. Burst period, average burst spike frequency, and duty cycle were chosen as major characteristics of the bursting waveform. Burst period and spike frequency showed similar dependencies on the varied parameters in both neurons; duty cycles of the two neurons, however, diverged when the parameters were varied, reflecting mismatch in parameters between chips.