Scientists have fused brain-like tissue with electronics to make an ‘organoid neural network’ that can recognise voices and solve a complex mathematical problem. Their invention extends neuromorphic computing – the practice of modelling computers after the human brain – to a new level by directly including brain tissue in a computer.
The system was developed by a team of researchers from Indiana University, Bloomington; the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Cincinnati; and the University of Florida, Gainesville. Their findings were published on December 11.
The study marks a significant advance in multiple areas of science and engineering. “It opens possibilities at the intersection of tissue engineering, electrophysiology, and neural computation,” Thomas Hartung, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, in the U.S., said.
