Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme
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AKB: Biologische Physik
AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"
AKB 50.72: Poster
Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B
NEURON-SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP WITH CHEMICAL SYNAPSES BETWEEN PAIRS OF IDENTIFIED NEURONS — •Alexander Kaul1, Naweed Syed2, and Peter Fromherz1 — 1MPI für Biochemie, Membran- und Neurophysik — 2University of Calgary, Respiratory and Neuroscience Research Group
We here report on a first integration of a basic biological element of learning with a silicon chip. We interfaced the pre- and postsynaptic neuron of an excitatory chemical synapse by non-invasive contacts for capacitive stimulation and transistor recording. Using the identified respiratory neurons visceral dorsal 4 (VD4) and left pedal dorsal 1 (LPeD1) from the mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis, we successfully stimulated presynaptic neuron VD4 by a chip capacitor and recorded postsynaptic action potentials in LPeD1 by a transistor. With the soma-soma paired neurons the strength of the cholinergic synapse was potentiated by tetanic capacitive stimulation from the chip. The non-invasive interfacing of a synapse by a semiconductor is a fundamental step towards the development of hybrid neurocomputing devices and also for long-term studies of synaptic plasticity in complex neuronal nets [1].
1. Kaul, R.A., Syed N.I., Fromherz P. PRL in press.