Researchers from Samsung Electronics and Harvard University have introduced a new approach to reverse engineer the brain on a memory chip, taking the world a step closer to realizing neuromorphic chips that can better mimic the brain.

The insight ‘Neuromorphic electronics based on copying and pasting the brain’ was published as a Perspective paper in Nature Electronics.

The paper suggests a way to copy the brain’s neuronal connection map using a breakthrough nanoelectrode array developed by Donhee Ham, Fellow of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Professor of Harvard University, Professor Hongkun Park of Harvard University, and to paste this map onto a high-density three-dimensional (3D) network of solid-state memories.

In a press release, Samsung revealed that the authors, via this copy and paste approach, envision to create a memory chip that approximates the unique computing traits of the brain – low power, facile learning, adaptation to the environment, and even autonomy and cognition – that have been beyond the reach of current technology.

The vision we present is highly ambitious. But working toward such a heroic goal will push the boundaries of machine intelligence, neuroscience, and semiconductor technology.

According to the researchers, the wiring map of a large number of neurons is responsible for the brain’s functions. The paper suggests a way to return to the original neuromorphic goal of the brain reverse engineering which was to mimic this structure and function of the neuronal networks on a silicon chip.

With its ability to effectively enter a large number of neurons, the nanoelectrode array can record their electrical signals with high sensitivity. These massively parallel intracellular recordings inform the neuronal wiring map, indicating where and how strongly neurons connect with one another. Hence, the neuronal wiring map can be extracted, or copied from these telltale recordings.

In the next step, the copied neuronal map can be pasted to a network of non-volatile memories such as commercial flash memories used in solid-state drives (SSD), or new memories such as resistive random access memories (RRAM).

The paper also suggests a strategy to rapidly paste the neuronal wiring map onto a memory network.

Sungwoo Hwang, President and CEO of Samsung SDS and former Head of SAIT, and Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics are the co-corresponding authors of the paper.