Nonlinear responses of an asynchronous cellular automaton model of spiral ganglion cell

The mammalian cochlear consists of nonlinear components: lymph (viscous fluid), a basilar membrane (vibrating membrane), outer hair cells (active dumpers), inner hair cells (neural transducers), and spiral ganglion cells (parallel spikes density modulators). In this paper, a novel spiral ganglion cell model based on an asynchronous sequential logic is presented. It is shown that the presented model can reproduce typical nonlinear responses of the spiral ganglion cell, e.g., spontaneous spiking, parallel spike density modulation, and adaptation. Also, FPGA experiments validate the reproductions of the nonlinear responses by the presented model.