The world's first artificial neuron was developed on a silicon chip

In the near future, artificial neurons may be used in the fight against Alzheimer's and chronic brain-related diseases.

Scientists from the University of Bath and the University of Bristol in the UK have developed the first silicon chip that acts like a brain cell, able to register and respond to electrical signals from the nervous system with all the complexity of mammalian neurons.

The first artificial neuron in the world.

'So far the nerve is like a black box, but we have opened the black box and looked inside. Our job is to change the model because it provides a powerful way to recreate the electrical properties of really detailed neurons in minutes.

But it's wider than that, because our neurons only need 140 nanowatt of energy. It is the energy demand of a microprocessor, another attempt to create used synthetic neurons. This makes neurons suitable for bioelectronic implants to treat chronic diseases , '' explained Professor Alain Nogaret, lead author of the Department of Physics at Bath University.

Reporting in Nature Communications, the team mimicked how mammalian neurons work by studying the activity of different types of neurons in mice under a variety of stimuli. prefer. This data is then used to program small analog electronic circuits.

One of the main challenges in this is the "non-linear" nature of the neuronal response. For example, the response from a nerve may not necessarily be twice as strong just because the signal it receives is twice as strong.

According to the researchers, the knowledge gained from this study could potentially be used as bioelectronic implants to replace damaged nerve circuits involving a variety of mental conditions. different sutras.

'We are currently developing a smart pacemaker that will not stimulate the heart to pump at a steady rate, but use these neurons to respond in real time to cardiac requests. , that's what happens naturally in a healthy heart, ' Professor Nogaret emphasized.