An organic spiking artificial neuron with excitatory and inhibitory synapses: towards soft and flexible organic neuromorphic processing

An organic spiking artificial neuron with excitatory and inhibitory synapses: towards soft and flexible organic neuromorphic processing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article An organic spiking artificial neuron with excitatory and inhibitory synapses: towards soft and flexible organic neuromorphic processing Mohammad Javad Mirshojaeian Hosseini, Yi Yang, Simeon Bamford, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7175066/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in npj Flexible Electronics → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Artificial neurons are key components of neuromorphic computing systems, which aim to emulate the structure and functions of biological neural networks for efficient, brain-like computation. However, most artificial neurons rely on rigid, silicon-based technologies that are poorly suited for integration with soft structures, such as soft robots or biological organisms. Here, we report the first organic spiking neuron equipped with excitatory and inhibitory synapses, constructed from complementary organic field-effect transistors and capacitors, all integrated on the same physically flexible substrate. The circuit emulates key neural functions including signal integration, frequency modulation, coincidence detection, and tunable synaptic weights. The synapses demonstrate excitatory and inhibitory time constants of 60\,ms and 280\,ms, respectively. The neuron exhibits linear response properties, with output firing rates in the range 0 to 60\,Hz. We showcase the neuron's ability to interact with the environment, by embedding it in a light-control feedback loop that adjusts luminance based on ambient light intensity. This work establishes a foundation for flexible, and low-power neuromorphic systems with the potential for direct integration with soft, or living tissue, paving the way for next-generation scalable and biocompatible intelligent sensory-processing systems. Physical sciences/Engineering Biological sciences/Neuroscience Physical sciences/Physics Spiking neural network Organic electronics Neuromorphic computing Integrate-and-fire spiking neurons Embodied AI Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files NPJFlexEleOrganicNeuralCircuitSI.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in npj Flexible Electronics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 21 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7175066","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":496455327,"identity":"f672c6fb-05e1-4845-b586-1c6c223c31e5","order_by":0,"name":"Mohammad Javad Mirshojaeian Hosseini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Purdue University West Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"Javad Mirshojaeian","lastName":"Hosseini","suffix":""},{"id":496455328,"identity":"d6fafe8f-7fff-4f9b-aad2-3ad45a98f64b","order_by":1,"name":"Yi Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Purdue University West Lafayette","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yi","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":496455329,"identity":"74e4d95b-1e7c-4a31-b06c-ca005e5b2e5c","order_by":2,"name":"Simeon Bamford","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Italian Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simeon","middleName":"","lastName":"Bamford","suffix":""},{"id":496455330,"identity":"488e9f0a-73aa-47a9-9630-b3ef2411ab00","order_by":3,"name":"Chiara Bartolozzi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Italian Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chiara","middleName":"","lastName":"Bartolozzi","suffix":""},{"id":496455331,"identity":"802a8096-7219-481a-8338-514b38fa158d","order_by":4,"name":"Giacomo Indiveri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zurich and ETH Zurich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giacomo","middleName":"","lastName":"Indiveri","suffix":""},{"id":496455335,"identity":"64042c09-8688-4ead-8d21-3742ca1b989a","order_by":5,"name":"Robert A. 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