GoKawiilEngineers at Northwestern University have created printed artificial neurons that go beyond imitation and can directly interact with real brain cells. These flexible, low-cost devices produce electrical signals that closely resemble those generated by living neurons, allowing them to activate biological brain tissue.
In experiments using slices of mouse brain, the artificial neurons successfully triggered responses in real neurons. This result shows a new level of compatibility between electronic devices and living neural systems.
Toward Brain Interfaces and Energy-Efficient AI
This advance moves researchers closer to electronics that can directly interface with the nervous system. Potential uses include brain-machine interfaces and neuroprosthetics, such as implants that could help restore hearing, vision, or movement.
The technology also points toward a new generation of computing systems inspired by the brain. By replicating how neurons communicate, future hardware could perform complex tasks using far less energy. The brain remains the most energy-efficient computing system known, and scientists hope to apply its principles to modern technology.
The study will be published on April 15 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
"The world we live in today is dominated by artificial intelligence (AI)," said Northwestern's Mark C. Hersam, who led the study. "The way you make AI smarter is by training it on more and more data. This data-intensive training leads to a massive power-consumption problem. Therefore, we have to come up with more efficient hardware to handle big data and AI. Because the brain is five orders of magnitude more energy efficient than a digital computer, it makes sense to look to the brain for inspiration for next-generation computing."
Hersam is an expert in brain-inspired computing and holds multiple roles at Northwestern University, including the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering. He also is a professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a professor of chemistry at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, he serves as chair of the department of materials science and engineering, director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, and a member of the International Institute for Nanotechnology. He co-led the study with Vinod K. Sangwan, a research associate professor at McCormick.
Why the Brain Outperforms Traditional Silicon
Modern computers handle increasing workloads by packing billions of identical transistors onto rigid, two-dimensional silicon chips. Each component behaves the same way, and once manufactured, the system remains fixed.
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