Synthetic Synapses To Aid Human-Like Electronics

Researchers have built a graphene-based artificial synapse that displays human-like flexibility, paving the way for machines that can learn.

AsianScientist (Nov. 20, 2015) – Scientists have developed a synthetic synapse that can mimic the plasticity of the real thing. These results, reported in Nano Letters, bring researchers one step closer to human-like artificial intelligence.

The flexibility, or plasticity, of neuronal synapses is a critical feature of the human brain, which has 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections, otherwise known as synapses. In the synapse, many factors, including how many signaling molecules get released and the timing of release, can change. This mutability allows neurons to encode memories, learn and heal themselves.

In recent years, researchers have been building artificial neurons and synapses with some success but without the flexibility needed for learning. Professor Ren Tian-Ling, of the Tsinghua University, and colleagues set out to address that challenge.

The researchers created an artificial synapse out of aluminum oxide and twisted bilayer graphene. By applying different electric voltages to the system, they found they could control the reaction intensity of the receiving “neuron.” The team says their novel dynamic system could aid in the development of biology-inspired electronics capable of learning and self-healing.

The article can be found at: Tian et al. (2015) Graphene Dynamic Synapse with Modulatable Plasticity.

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Source: American Chemical Society; Photo: Shutterstock.
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