Unravelling the operation of organic artificial neurons for neuromorphic bioelectronics

Organic artificial neurons (OANs) operating in liquid environments are crucial for neuromorphic bioelectronics. This research combines experiments, non-linear simulations, and analytical tools to understand OAN operation, revealing biorealistic behaviors like firing properties, excitability, wetware operation, and biohybrid integration. Nonlinear simulations, grounded in a physics-based framework, account for ion types, concentrations, organic mixed ionic-electronic parameters, and biomembrane features. Analytical expressions link spiking features to material and physical parameters, bridging artificial neurons and neuroscience. The work provides guidelines for designing and optimizing OANs, advancing neuromorphic electronics and bioelectronics.

Pietro Belleri, Judith Pons i Tarrés, Iain McCulloch, Paul W. M. Blom, Zsolt M. Kovács-Vajna, Paschalis Gkoupidenis, Fabrizio Torricelli