Artificial neurons become more advanced-and simpler – with conductive plastics

An Artificial Neuron Made of Conductive Plastic that Can Perform Advanced Functions Similar to that of BioLogical Nerve Cells Has Has Been Demonstrated by Researched by Researcade, Sweden. The results, Published in Science AdvancesPave the way for a new generation of body -integrated sensors, medical implants, and robotics.

“Mimicking the behavior of biological neurons has long been a major goal in so -called neuromorphic engineering. Traditional silicon -Based Electronics Fall Short Fall Short Because The Same Languse The Same Language The Same Language As the nereve cells in our body, “Says Simone Fabiano, Professor of Materials Science at Linköping University, Liu.

I instead of relaying on Rigid silicon, fabiano’s team at the laboratory of Organic Electronics at Liu Works With a Class of Soft, Flexible Materials Conjugated Conjugated Conjugated Conjugated Polymers Ions and electrons. This dual capability allows them to interface more closely with biological systems.

In their article, fabiano’s research group has shown that their artificial neurons can perform a type of information processing observed in our nervous system. This function means the neuron activates only when one input is present and another is absent. It is called anticoincidence detection and is a core Principle in tasks like tactille sensing.

“We can imagine using these devices to add a sense of touch in prosthetics or robotics. That connect biology with electronics, “Says fabiano.

In Parallel with Developing Advanced Functionality, His Research Group has also worked to simplife the basic structure of these artificial neurons.

In Early 2023, The Researchers at Campus Norrköpping Succeded in Creating Artificial Nerve Cells that reproduced 15 of the 22 key Properties of Biological Neurons. However, that plastic nerve cells relied on many different components, which limited their practical use.

Now, in a study Published in Nature CommunicationsThe team has further refined the technology. They have reduced the artificial nerve cell to just a single Organic Electrochemical Transistor, What Still Reproducing as Many as 17 Neural Properties. This artificial neuron is not only highly functional but also extramely compact, comparable in size to a human nerve cell.

“This is one of the simplest and most biologically related artificial neurons made to date.