Minimal Neuron Circuits—Part II: Integrators

Spiking neurons are the core building blocks of Spiking Neural Networks. This work presents a methodology for designing minimal neuron circuits using various types of devices. We postulate that Sodium ion channels show Type-N negative differential resistance. Consequently, we demonstrate multiple examples where a circuit or device showing Type-N negative differential resistance can fulfil the role of a Sodium channel. Similarly, we show that circuits and devices showing Type-S Negative Differential Resistance can fulfil the role of a Potassium channel for a neuron of the Integrator type. In part I, we present the methodology utilized in designing three novel minimal neuron circuits of the resonator type. In this part, we demonstrate a methodology to design neurons of the Integrator type, and we present eight novel minimal neurons of such type. We show that many combinations of N-type and S-type negative differential resistance circuits or devices can be used to construct minimal neuron circuits that mimic the I<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Na,p</sub>+I<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">K</sub> model. This work aims to supplement the understanding of how spiking neuron circuits relate to their biological counterparts, which is a necessary step towards building better brain-inspired systems.