Nature sub-magazine breakthrough! Develop artificial synapses that work with living cells.

, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire-bio-valley,, shows a new device that mimics the brain's efficient, low-energy neural learning processesThis is an artificial synapse -- a gap between nerve transmitters that transmit information between neurons -- made of organic materialIn 2019, researchers assembled nine artificial synapses into arrays, suggesting they could be programmed simultaneously to mimic the parallel operations of the brainNow,now, in a paper published june 15 in Nature Materials, they tested the first version of artificial synapses in a biological hybrid, proving that it can communicate with living cellsThe device's future technology can respond directly to chemical signals from the brainThe study was carried out in collaboration with researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology and the University of Technology in Eindhoven, the Netherlands"This paper does highlight the unique power of the materials we use in interacting with living matter," said Alberto Salleo,, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford UniversityStanford University and co-author of the paperCells are happy to sit on soft polymersBut compatibility is deeper: these materials work with the same molecules that neurons naturally use"
when other brain integration devices require an electrical signal to detect and process information about the brain, the communication between the device and the living cells is electrically chemically carried out -- as if the material were just another neuron receiving information from its neighborsHow neurons learn biohybrid artificial synapses consist of two soft polymer electrodes, which are a groove filled with electrolyte solutions that act as a synaptic gap that separates the neurons that communicate in the brain When living cells are placed on an electrode, the neurotransmitters released by these cells react with the electrodes, producing ions These ions pass through the groove to reach the second electrode and regulate the conductive state of the electrode Some of these changes are preserved to simulate the learning processes that take place in nature ", "In biological synapses, basically everything is controlled by the chemical action at the synaptic connection Whenever cells communicate with each other, they are using chemicals," said Scott Keene, a graduate student at Stanford University and one of the paper's lead authors "The natural chemical reactions with the brain make the device more practical." this process mimics the kind of learning seen in biological synapses and is very efficient in terms of energy, because computation and memory storage occur in an action In a more traditional computer system, the data is processed before it is moved to memory to test their device, the researchers used neuroendocrine cells in mice that release the neurotransmitter dopamine Before they experimented, they weren't sure how dopamine would interact with their materials, but they saw a permanent change in the state of the device during the first reaction "We know that this reaction is irreversible, so it causes a permanent change in the conductivity of the device," Keene said But it wasn't until we saw it happen in the lab that we knew if we could achieve the results we predicted on paper At that time we realized its potential in the long-term learning process of imitating synapses "
picture source: Nature Materials first step
this biomixed design is still in its early stages, and the main focus of research is on making it work "This proves that fusion of chemical and electrical communication is possible," Salleo said "You could say it's the first step towards the brain-machine interface, but it's just a very small first step." Now, researchers have successfully tested their designs, and they are finding the best path for future research, which may include work on brain-inspired computers, brain-computer interfaces, medical devices, or new research tools in neuroscience They are already working on how to make the device work better in more complex biological environments that contain different types of cells and neurotransmitters (BioValleyBioon.com) References: Researchers Develop artificial synapse that works with living cells fast, efficiency and synapse developed Elliot J Fuller et al Parallel programming of an ionic floating-gate array array for scalable neuromorphic computing , Science (2019) DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw5581
A biohybrid synapse with neuroda-mediated plastic
, Nature Materials (2020) DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-0703-y,
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