Semiconductor chips with ion channels, nerve cells and brain slices

Electrical information processing in brains and computers relies on different charge carriers: ions and electrons. It is an intellectual and technological challenge to join neuronal networks and computer chips on a microscopic electrical level, with the goal to get better insight of brain dynamics, to built neuroelectronic processors and to strengthen the basis of neuroprosthetics. The research has two directions: (A) Elucidation of the electrical dynamics of the neuron-chip interface on a nanoscopic level. (B) Assembly of hybrid systems made of neuronal nets and electronic devices on a microscopic level.