Los Angeles, CA, USA. Engineering researchers made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain.They built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit with behavior in tests that reproduces the function of a neuron input, the synapse, the building block of the brain.

The devices have the potential for combination into a massive synthetic neuron network, brain repair, and prosthetics.


Carbon nanotubes are molecular carbon structures that are extremely small, with a diameter a million times smaller than a pencil point. These nanotubes can be used in electronic circuits, acting as metallic conductors or semiconductors. The team, led by Professor Alice Parker and Professor Chongwu Zhou at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, combined circuit design with nanotechnology to address the complex problem of capturing brain function. Their findings appear in the proceedings of the EEE/NIH 2011 LIfe Science Systems and Applications Workshop (LiSSA 2011).



This image shows the laboratory apparatus used to create the nanotubes used in synthetic synapse creation.

All images on this article are courtesy of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.“This is a necessary first step in the process,” said Parker, who began the complex project of looking at the possibility of developing a synthetic brain in 2006. “We wanted to answer the question: Can you build a circuit that would act like a neuron?

The next step is even more complex. How can we build structures out of these circuits that mimic the neuron, and eventually the function of the brain, which has 100 billion neurons and 10,000 synapses?”

Parker emphasized that the fabricated synapse is simplified; the actual development of a synthetic brain is decades away, and she said the next hurdle for the research centers on reproducing brain plasticity in the circuits. The human brain continually produces new neurons and adapts throughout life, and creating this process through analog circuits will be a monumental task.

Parker believes the ongoing research of understanding the process of human intelligence could have long-term implications for everything from developing prosthetic nanotechnology that would heal traumatic brain injuries to developing intelligent, safe cars that would protect drivers in bold new ways.

Jonathan Joshi is a USC Viterbi Ph.D. student in the USC Viterbi Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, and a co-author of the paper. He reports that the interdisciplinary approach to the problem was key to the initial progress. Joshi said that working with Zhou and his group of nanotechnology researchers provided the ideal dynamic of circuit technology and nanotechnology.

“The interdisciplinary approach is the only approach that will lead to a solution. We need more than one type of engineer working on this solution,” said Joshi. “We should constantly be in search of new technologies to solve this problem.”

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment