Meeting of the Mind

Electronic mimicking of plasticity

MIT researchers, as reported through CogNet, have devised a multi-transistor chip that re-creates neural activity through opening and closing of ion channels creating a gradient like a neuronal action potential.  Action potentials have been simulated before, but this artificial creation of one is the key discovery.  It should bring a whole new dimension to devices based on neural nets.  The next step probably is scaling up to many multiples of the one synapse.  Higher cognition is based on thousands of such connections, and large numbers of these silicon emulations would be necessary to address most cognitive neuroscience questions relevant to higher endeavors.