Communication protocols for neural nanonetworks in case of neuron specific faults

In this thesis, we study the somatosensory system that is a subnetwork of the nervous system in detail and explore the analogies between this intra-body nanonetwork and the conventional communication networks. For the somatosensory system, perceived stimulus converted into spike trains by the receptor neurons (RNs) and conveyed to the somatosensory cortex via second and higher order neurons. Many neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the interruption of spike propagation due to the malfunctioning neurons in the pathway where the signal is carried through. Even if the RNs function properly, a faulty relaying neuron in the signaling pathway hinders the spikes to be delivered to the somatosensory cortex. Thus, a fault in the pathway results in a loss of sense in the relevant part of the human body. These irreversible impairments remind the same problem in the transmission lines of the conventional communication networks. In communication networks, multiplexing methods that combine more than one signal over a shared medium are employed to solve this problem. In this study, we propose three neuron specific techniques (Time Division Multiple Access based, statistical multiplexing based and Switch Based Multiplexing Protocol) for conveying the spike trains of RNs that have faulty pathways over a functional neighboring pathway by using the above-mentioned analogy. For the techniques we propose, our aim is twofold. Firstly, conveying the spikes of an RN that has faulty pathway through a shared functional pathway. The latter is to minimize the number of spikes that can be lost while multiplexing the spikes of RNs in order to feel the correct sensation. The performance of the proposed techniques is evaluated by simulations under various scenarios, compared with each other and successful results are obtained.