Stochastic Resonance : from Suprathreshold Stochastic Resonance to Stochastic Signal Quantization

The stochastic resonance phenomenon has been observed in many forms of systems and has been debated by scientists for 30 years. Applications incorporating aspects of stochastic resonance have yet to prove revolutionary in fields such as distributed sensor networks, nano-electronics, and biomedical prosthetics. The initial chapters review stochastic resonance basics and outline some of the controversies and debates that have surrounded it. The book continues to discuss stochastic quantization in a model where all threshold devices are not necessarily identical, but are still independently noisy. Finally, it considers various constraints and tradeoffs in the performance of stochastic quantizers. Each chapter ends with a review summarizing the main points, and open questions to guide researchers into finding new research directions.1. Introduction and motivation -- 2. Stochastic resonance : its definition, history, and debates -- 3. Stochastic quantization -- 4. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance : encoding -- 5. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance : large N encoding -- 6. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance : decoding -- 7. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance : large N decoding -- 8. Optimal stochastic quantization -- 9. SSR, neural coding, and performance tradeoffs -- 10. Stochastic resonance in the auditory systems -- 11. The future of stochastic resonance and suprathreshold stochastic resonance -- App. 1. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance -- App. 2. Large N suprathreshold stochastic resonance -- App. 3. Suprathreshold stochastic resonance decoding