A silicon model of the auditory neural perception of frequency modulated tones

Frequency modulations in acoustic communication signals are thought to encode meaning in many animal species. Recent physiological experiments have elucidated possible neural mechanisms underlying their perception. The system described here attempts to model such mechanisms using subthreshold analog circuitry. It is built with a silicon cochlea and a unidirectional velocity-tuned delay line. Taps from the cochlea couple into the delay line. If the input frequency is modulated in the appropriate direction and right speed, the inputs to the delay line will coincide in time and summate. A similar design was recently used to detect motion in a vision chip.