A Texas A&M University-led
team of scientists and engineers discovered materials-based mimic for the
neural signals responsible for transmitting information within the human brain.
The team was able to clarify the underlying mechanism driving this behavior by
taking a new look at remarkable chameleon-like material that changes with
temperature or an applied electrical stimulus. In the process, they zeroed in
on how copper ions move around inside the material and how this subtle dance in
turn sloshes electrons around to transform it.
Their research revealed that the
movement of copper ions is the linchpin of an electrical conductivity change
which can be leveraged to create electrical spikes in the same way that neurons
function in the cerebral nervous system, a major step toward developing
circuitry that functions like the human brain. The importance of this work is
to show that chemists can rationally design and create electrically active
materials with significantly improved neuromorphic properties. Our materials
will improve significantly, thus providing a new path to the continual
technological advancement of our computing abilities.
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