Indiana University researchers
After creating a small brain tissue
Connect it to an electrical circuit
Successful voice recognition
Basic research results where AI and the brain meet
Indiana University researchers succeeded in sending and receiving signals by connecting brain organoids to an electrical circuit. In particular, he developed technology that uses AI to distinguish voices recognized by organoids. [사진=네이처 일렉트로닉스]
American researchers have developed a biocomputer that connects brain tissue and computer circuits. The researchers hope that this technology could be incorporated into artificial intelligence (AI) systems or serve as the basis for improved models of the brain in neuroscience.
Researchers at Indiana University Bloomington announced that they developed a ‘hybrid biocomputer’ with functions such as voice recognition by cultivating brain tissue in the laboratory and combining it with computer circuits. The research results were published in the latest issue of the international academic journal ‘Nature Electronics’.
The researchers used ‘organoids’ for this study. Organoids are made from stem cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and refer to mini organs similar to human organs. It is characterized by arranging cells in a three-dimensional structure similar to actual tissue.
“Our goal was to build a bridge between AI and organoids,” said Feng Guo, a professor of biomedical engineering at Indiana University who led the study, in an interview with Nature. “We wanted to know if we could utilize biological neural networks within brain organoids for computing.” .
A combination of a brain and a computer drawn using Midjourny, an image-generating AI. I asked Midjourney to “draw it in a way that isn’t scary,” but it feels bizarre. [사진=미드저니]
The researchers placed the organoids on a plate containing thousands of electrodes to connect the brain organoids to an electrical circuit. Afterwards, the researchers delivered electrical signals to the organoids. The sensor detects the response of the organoid brain tissue and ‘decodes’ (converts it into data that can be interpreted by humans) using computational learning to recognize related information. The researchers named this system ‘Brainware.’
The researchers then streamed 240 recorded voices from eight participants to test the system’s capabilities. This voice was converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the organoid. The mini brains were found to react differently to different voices. Then, different reactions were learned using AI. According to the researchers, the system identified voices with 78% accuracy.
Lena Smirnova, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, said of this study, “Although more research is needed, this study confirms several theoretical ideas that make biological computers possible.” Previous research was conducted after culturing neuron cells in two dimensions, but this is the first result showing that connections are possible even in a three-dimensional form.
Researchers expect that if organoids and computers can be connected, the speed and energy efficiency of the human brain can be used not only for AI, but also for research for treatment. The next step for the researchers is to create more complex organoids than now and then check whether these systems work properly.
2023-12-12 23:00:00
#Brain #cells #circuits #meet.. #Hybrid #computer #development
