Carbon nanotubes bring 'synthetic' brains closer to reality

Engineering researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a carbon nanotube synapse circuit that functions like a neuron, the building block of the brain.

This is a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain.
 
Professor Alice Parker and professor Chongwu Zhou in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Ming Hsieh department of electrical engineering led the team.

They used an interdisciplinary approach combining circuit design with nanotechnology to address the complex problem of capturing brain function.

The study was published in the proceedings of the IEEE/NIH 2011 Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop in April 2011.