SYNCH 2020 UICI

SYNCH: A SYnaptically connected brain-silicon Neural Closed-Loop Hybrid system.

Concept

The brain, with its remarkable computational properties, provides animals with capabilities of physical autonomy, interaction and adaptation that are unmatched by any artificial system. The brain is a complex network that has evolved to optimize processing of real-world inputs by relying on electrical events and self-reorganizing connectivity. Spikes (the events) are transmitted between neurons through synapses which undergo continuous ‘birth’-‘death’ and adjustment, reconfiguring brain circuits and adapting processing to ever changing inputs.

SYNCH will create a hybrid system where a neural network in the brain of a living animal and a silicon neural network of spiking neurons on a chip are interconnected by neuromorphic synapses, thus enabling co-evolution of connectivity and co- processing of information of the two networks.

an illustration of a brain connected to a computer to form a hybrid network in a synaptically connected brain
SYNCH: Hybrid Network