Northwestern University researchers report they have printed flexible “artificial neurons” that generate realistic electrical spike patterns and can trigger responses in living mouse brain tissue. The team says the work, published April 15 in Nature Nanotechnology, could help advance brain-machine interfaces and more energy-efficient, brain-inspired computing.
Engineers led by Mark C. Hersam at Northwestern University reported creating flexible artificial neurons using aerosol jet printing on polymer substrates with electronic inks made from nanoscale flakes of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and graphene.
According to the researchers, they leveraged a material feature others typically remove: instead of burning away the stabilizing polymer after printing, they partially decomposed it. Hersam said that, under current, the polymer decomposes further in a spatially uneven way, forming a conductive filament that constricts current into a narrow region and produces a sudden, neuron-like electrical response.
The team reported that the printed devices can generate a range of signaling patterns—single spikes, continuous firing and bursting—intended to resemble how biological neurons communicate. Hersam contrasted the brain’s “heterogeneous, dynamic and three-dimensional” organization with conventional computing built from “billions of identical devices” on rigid silicon chips.
To test biological compatibility, the researchers collaborated with neurobiologist Indira M. Raman. Raman’s group applied the artificial-neuron voltage signals to slices of mouse cerebellum, and the team reported that the artificial spikes matched key biological features, including timing and duration, and reliably triggered activity in living neurons.
The researchers said the approach could support future neuroprosthetics and brain–machine interfaces, and could also inform brain-inspired computing aimed at lowering energy use. Hersam said the brain is “five orders of magnitude” more energy efficient than a digital computer, and argued that the power and cooling needs of large-scale AI computing are pushing companies toward gigawatt-scale data centers, with associated heat and water demands.
The team also highlighted manufacturing claims tied to the printing method: because aerosol jet printing is an additive process that deposits material only where needed, they said it can reduce waste and enable low-cost fabrication. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation, the researchers said.
