March 28, 2006
An Interface Between Neurons and Silicon Chips
European researchers have created an interface between mammalian neurons and silicon chips. The development is a crucial first step in the development of advanced technologies that combine silicon circuits with a mammal’s nervous system. Professor Stefano Vassanelli, a molecular biologist with the University of Padua in Italy working with the NACHIP project, funded under the European Commission’s Future and Emerging Technologies initiative describes that the goal was to develop a working interface between the living tissue of individual neurons and the inorganic compounds of silicon chips.
With the help of German microchip company Infineon, NACHIP placed 16,384 transistors and hundreds of capacitors on a chip just 1mm squared in size. The group had to find appropriate materials and refine the topology of the chip to make the connection with neurons possible.
Biologically NACHIP uses special proteins found in the brain to essentially glue the neurons to the chip. These proteins act as more than a simple adhesive and provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip. Once there, that signal can be recorded using the chip's transistors. What's more, the neurons can also be stimulated through the capacitors. This is what enables the two-way communications.
The project tested the device by stimulating the neurons and recording which ones fired using standard neuroscience techniques while tracking the signals coming from the chip. The next step is to explore how to communicate with the neurons using genes. According to Vassanelli, "genes are where memory comes from, and without them you have no memory or computation. We want to explore a way to use genes to control the neuro-chip."
Earlier study by Vassanelli in the Journal of Neuroscience