Neural Assemblies and Finite State Automata

Neural assembly computing (NAC) is a framework for investigating computational operations realized by spiking cell assemblies and for designing spiking neural machines. NAC concerns the way assemblies interact and how it results in information processing with causal and hierarchical relations. In addition, NAC investigates how assemblies represent states of the world, how they control data flux carried by spike streaming, how they create parallel processes by branching and dismantling other assemblies, how they reverberate and create memory loops, among other issues. As cell coalitions interact they realize logical functions. Memory loops and logical functions are the elements engineers use to create finite state machines (FSM). An overview of NAC is provided, a methodology for implementing FSM in NAC is presented in this paper, a finite state automaton is designed, and a simulation and respective results are shown. Supplemental materials are available for download. Discussions about how FSM on NAC and how NAC itself can contribute for designing new types of spiking neural machines are presented.