Magnitude comparison in analog spiking neural assemblies

Spiking neural systems can represent external stimuli and internal states by means of sets of neurons firing together, the so-called cell assemblies. Neural assembly computing (NAC) is an approach that investigates how spiking neural assemblies represent things and states of the world, how interaction among assemblies results in information processing, computation and behavior. Mainly, NAC deals with digital assemblies in which all-or-none cell members are firing. The notion of analog assemblies is introduced, describing sets of neurons that represent something proportionally to their driving stimuli. Interactions among digital and analog cell assemblies create a rich computational environment. In this paper a spiking neural network that compares the magnitude of two analog assemblies is presented.