Blog: Computer Circuit Built From Brain Cells

Computer Circuit Built From Brain Cells
New Scientist (10/23/08) Barras, Colin

Researchers at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have developed a way to control the growth pattern of human neurons to build reliable computer circuits that use neurons instead of wires. The researchers start with a glass plate coated with cell-repellent material. The desired circuit pattern is scratched into this coating and then coated with a cell-friendly adhesive. The cell repellent forces the cells to grow in the scratched areas, which are thin enough to force the neurons to grow in a single direction, forming straight, wire-like connections around the circuit. Using this method, the researchers built a device that acts like an AND logic gate, which produces an output only when it receives two inputs. Weizmann researcher Assaf Rotem believes that this research provides a useful model for real brain function, and says that brain-cell logic circuits could serve as intermediaries between computers and the nervous system. Brain implants already give paralyzed people the ability to control robotic arms or the ability to talk, but these implants suffer a drop-off in performance when scar tissue covers the electrodes. "An intermediate layer of in vitro neurons interfacing between man and machine could be advantageous," Rotem says.

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