Signaling contours by neuromorphic wave propagation
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Real-Time Proxy-Control of Re-Parameterized Peripheral Signals using a Close-Loop Interface
Published on: May 8, 2021
1Department of Psychology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA, USA. rasche@klab.caltech.edu
Abstract:
We describe a neuromorphic retina that signals a luminance edge as a spike. In a fast process, the luminance profile of the receptor layer determines the membrane potential of the ganglion cells and their individual, adjustable spiking thresholds. In a slower process, a wave-propagation process, the charge of ganglion cells with high membrane potential will propagate toward neighboring cells with low membrane potential and low spiking threshold, thus signaling the edge as a spike. Following that, the signaled edge (or contour) actively propagates across the retinal map. The retinal signal can be used for a contour-integration or a contour-propagation approach.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Synaptic Signaling
Synaptic Signaling
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...
Neural Circuits
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...

