A dielectric material is a substance that is a poor conductor of electricity, but an efficient supporter of electrostatic fields.
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An artificial [[reflex arc]] (ARA) and artificial [[pain modulation]] system (APMS) are proposed to imitate the [[unconscious]] [[behavior]]s of the [[spinal cord]]. Gdx Oy - and Alx Oy -based charge-regulated [[field-effect transistor]]s (CRFETs) with a monolayer [[graphene]] channel were fabricated and adopted as inhibitory and excitatory synapses, respectively, under the same [[pulse]] [[signal]]s to mimic the biological reflex arc through a connection with a poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene)-based actuator. Additionally, a memristor was integrated with a CRFET as the [[interneuron]] to regulate the Dirac point by controlling the [[voltage]] drop on the graphene channel, analogous to the [[descending pain pathway]] in the spinal cord, to prevent excessive [[pain]] perception. The proposed ARA and APMS have provided a significant step forward to realizing the functions of the nervous system, giving promising potential for developing future intelligent alarm systems, [[neuroprosthetics]], and [[neurorobotics]]
((Fu Y, Chan YT, Jiang YP, Chang KH, Wu HC, Lai CS, Wang JC. Polarity-Differentiated [[Dielectric Material]]s in Monolayer Graphene Charge-Regulated Field-Effect Transistors for an Artificial [[Reflex Arc]] and [[Pain Modulation]] System of the Spinal Cord. Adv Mater. 2022 May 26:e2202059. doi: 10.1002/adma.202202059. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35619163.)).