From Neurons to Computation: Biological Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Iannello, Ludovico, Ciampi, Luca, Lagani, Gabriele, Tonelli, Fabrizio, Crocco, Eleonora, Calcagnile, Lucio Maria, Di Garbo, Angelo, Cremisi, Federico, Amato, Giuseppe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Iannello, Ludovico
Ciampi, Luca
Lagani, Gabriele
Tonelli, Fabrizio
Crocco, Eleonora
Calcagnile, Lucio Maria
Di Garbo, Angelo
Cremisi, Federico
Amato, Giuseppe
author_facet Iannello, Ludovico
Ciampi, Luca
Lagani, Gabriele
Tonelli, Fabrizio
Crocco, Eleonora
Calcagnile, Lucio Maria
Di Garbo, Angelo
Cremisi, Federico
Amato, Giuseppe
contents In this paper, we introduce a paradigm for reservoir computing (RC) that leverages a pool of cultured biological neurons as the reservoir substrate, creating a biological reservoir computing (BRC). This system operates similarly to an echo state network (ESN), with the key distinction that the neural activity is generated by a network of cultured neurons, rather than being modeled by traditional artificial computational units. The neuronal activity is recorded using a multi-electrode array (MEA), which enables high-throughput recording of neural signals. In our approach, inputs are introduced into the network through a subset of the MEA electrodes, while the remaining electrodes capture the resulting neural activity. This generates a nonlinear mapping of the input data to a high-dimensional biological feature space, where distinguishing between data becomes more efficient and straightforward, allowing a simple linear classifier to perform pattern recognition tasks effectively. To evaluate the performance of our proposed system, we present an experimental study that includes various input patterns, such as positional codes, bars with different orientations, and a digit recognition task. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using biological neural networks to perform tasks traditionally handled by artificial neural networks, paving the way for further exploration of biologically-inspired computing systems, with potential applications in neuromorphic engineering and bio-hybrid computing.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_03510
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Neurons to Computation: Biological Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition
Iannello, Ludovico
Ciampi, Luca
Lagani, Gabriele
Tonelli, Fabrizio
Crocco, Eleonora
Calcagnile, Lucio Maria
Di Garbo, Angelo
Cremisi, Federico
Amato, Giuseppe
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
In this paper, we introduce a paradigm for reservoir computing (RC) that leverages a pool of cultured biological neurons as the reservoir substrate, creating a biological reservoir computing (BRC). This system operates similarly to an echo state network (ESN), with the key distinction that the neural activity is generated by a network of cultured neurons, rather than being modeled by traditional artificial computational units. The neuronal activity is recorded using a multi-electrode array (MEA), which enables high-throughput recording of neural signals. In our approach, inputs are introduced into the network through a subset of the MEA electrodes, while the remaining electrodes capture the resulting neural activity. This generates a nonlinear mapping of the input data to a high-dimensional biological feature space, where distinguishing between data becomes more efficient and straightforward, allowing a simple linear classifier to perform pattern recognition tasks effectively. To evaluate the performance of our proposed system, we present an experimental study that includes various input patterns, such as positional codes, bars with different orientations, and a digit recognition task. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using biological neural networks to perform tasks traditionally handled by artificial neural networks, paving the way for further exploration of biologically-inspired computing systems, with potential applications in neuromorphic engineering and bio-hybrid computing.
title From Neurons to Computation: Biological Reservoir Computing for Pattern Recognition
topic Neural and Evolutionary Computing
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.03510