Producing artificial synapses in the lab

Advanced prosthetics that rely on brain-machine interfaces may have a step forward from Stanford University’s model of an artificial synapse.  “The biohybrid artificial synapse consists of two soft polymer electrodes, separated by a trench filled with electrolyte solution — which plays the part of the synaptic cleft that separates communicating neurons in the brain. When living cells are placed on top of one electrode, neurotransmitters that those cells release can react with that electrode to produce ions. Those ions travel across the trench to the second electrode and modulate the conductive state of this electrode. Some of that change is preserved, simulating the learning process occurring in nature.”  MORE

Image Credit:  L. A. Cicero and Stanford News