论文标题
在单个芯片上实施1,200万霍奇金 - 赫克斯利神经元网络
Implementation of a 12-Million Hodgkin-Huxley Neuron Network on a Single Chip
论文作者
论文摘要
了解人脑是二十一世纪科学家的最大挑战。 Hodgkin-Huxley(HH)模型是大脑生物真实模拟的最成功的数学模型之一。但是,HH神经元的模拟涉及复杂的计算,这使得大规模脑网络的实现变得困难。在本文中,我们提出了一个硬件体系结构,该硬件体系结构有效地计算了HH神经元的大规模网络。该体系结构基于神经元机硬件体系结构,该架构仅具有一个计算节点,因此具有速度的限制。所提出的体系结构本质上是一个非元素的Neumann同步系统,具有多个计算节点,称为硬件神经元,以实现线性加速。在本文中,以计算大型HH神经元网络的数字电路的设计为示例,以提供对拟议体系结构的详细描述。该设计支持尖峰和短期和长期可塑性突触的轴突传导延迟以及浮点精度HH神经元。该设计是在实地可编程的门阵列(FPGA)芯片上实现的,并在接近实时计算100万HH神经元的网络。实施的系统可以计算具有多达1200万HH神经元和6亿平触的网络。提出的设计方法可以促进支持复杂神经元模型的系统及其在可重构FPGA芯片上的灵活实现。
Understanding the human brain is the biggest challenge for scientists in the twenty-first century. The Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model is one of the most successful mathematical models for bio-realistic simulations of the brain. However, the simulation of HH neurons involves complex computation, which makes the implementation of large-scale brain networks difficult. In this paper, we propose a hardware architecture that efficiently computes a large-scale network of HH neurons. This architecture is based on the neuron machine hardware architecture, which has the limitation of speed as it has only one computation node. The proposed architecture is essentially a non-Von Neumann synchronous system with multiple computation nodes, called hardware neurons, to achieve linear speedup. In this paper, the design of a digital circuit that computes large-scale networks of HH neurons is presented as an example to provide a detailed description of the proposed architecture. This design supports axonal conduction delay of spikes and short- and long-term plasticity synapses, along with floating-point precision HH neurons. The design is implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip and computes a network of one million HH neurons in near real time. The implemented system can compute a network with up to 12 million HH neurons and 600 million synapses. The proposed design method can facilitate the design of systems supporting complex neuron models and their flexible implementation on reconfigurable FPGA chips.