美研究人员利用纳米技术构建人造大脑取得进展

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来源：新华网 发布时间：2011-4-24 8 ^  w1 B9 H& F4 I- V- m

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- x% s% e8 H! ]+ M% u美国研究人员利用纳米技术构建了一个碳纳米管神经键电路。在试验中，这个电路呈现出大脑基本构成单位神经元的机能。' {+ T$ {4 ~4 ~; k, a

9 H! C/ Q* \  K9 V  I. k美国每日科学网站日前报道说，加利福尼亚南部大学工程学研究人员采用交叉学科研究方法，将电路设计与纳米技术结合在一起，以解决具备大脑机能这一复杂问题。
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领导这个研究小组的艾丽斯·帕克教授从2006年开始研究开发人造大脑的可能性。她说：“我们想要解答这样一个问题：能否构建一个电路，使其发挥神经元的作用？下一步就更为复杂。我们如何用这些电路构建一些结构来模仿拥有1000亿个神经元、每个神经元上有1万个神经键的大脑的机能？”
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帕克强调，真正开发出人造大脑甚至只是大脑的某个功能区域还需要几十年时间。她说，研究小组面临的下一道障碍是在电路中复制出大脑的可塑性。
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! l1 i" |4 M/ V7 ]- I% H帕克说，在人的一生中，人脑不断制造新的神经元，建立新的联系并调整适应。利用类似电路复制这一过程将是一项浩大的工程。
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5 x8 `# c6 j: \0 I3 r4 _. A她认为，为了解人类智力发展进程而进行的持续研究可能对许多事情具有长远影响，从开发治疗脑外伤的纳米修复术到开发能够以全新方式保护司机的智能安全汽车。
9 L! u+ _) Q& _  {& T3 Ahttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110421151921.htm
- S4 k$ y! `9 l0 y, {Functioning Synapse Created Using Carbon Nanotubes: Devices Might Be Used in Brain Prostheses or Synthetic Brains
( S. p+ L$ t$ D7 G) n) `4 ?ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2011) — Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.
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The team, which was led by Professor Alice Parker and Professor Chongwu Zhou in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, used an interdisciplinary approach combining circuit design with nanotechnology to address the complex problem of capturing brain function.
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; g* r# \3 Y6 {0 [- ?In a paper published in the proceedings of the IEEE/NIH 2011 Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop in April 2011, the Viterbi team detailed how they were able to use carbon nanotubes to create a synapse.
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Carbon nanotubes are molecular carbon structures that are extremely small, with a diameter a million times smaller than a pencil point. These nanotubes can be used in electronic circuits, acting as metallic conductors or semiconductors.
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"This is a necessary first step in the process," said Parker, who began the looking at the possibility of developing a synthetic brain in 2006. "We wanted to answer the question: Can you build a circuit that would act like a neuron? The next step is even more complex. How can we build structures out of these circuits that mimic the function of the brain, which has 100 billion neurons and 10,000 synapses per neuron?"
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) y7 Z- d) K2 Y; ]8 [& EParker emphasized that the actual development of a synthetic brain, or even a functional brain area is decades away, and she said the next hurdle for the research centers on reproducing brain plasticity in the circuits.
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The human brain continually produces new neurons, makes new connections and adapts throughout life, and creating this process through analog circuits will be a monumental task, according to Parker.7 J( x4 d* ]8 M% I* s1 X
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She believes the ongoing research of understanding the process of human intelligence could have long-term implications for everything from developing prosthetic nanotechnology that would heal traumatic brain injuries to developing intelligent, safe cars that would protect drivers in bold new ways.
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For Jonathan Joshi, a USC Viterbi Ph.D. student who is a co-author of the paper, the interdisciplinary approach to the problem was key to the initial progress. Joshi said that working with Zhou and his group of nanotechnology researchers provided the ideal dynamic of circuit technology and nanotechnology." g5 v- r" F6 b& t* O+ ?
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"The interdisciplinary approach is the only approach that will lead to a solution. We need more than one type of engineer working on this solution," said Joshi. "We should constantly be in search of new technologies to solve this problem."8 D5 V8 ^) V7 ]; p3 R$ \& _

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冷冷的冰雨

真难，脊髓神经呢？