Reflex arc

The reflex arc is a special type of neural circuit that begins with a sensory neuron at a receptor (e.g., a pain receptor in the fingertip) and ends with a motor neuron at an effector (e.g., a skeletal muscle).

An artificial reflex arc (ARA) and artificial pain modulation system (APMS) are proposed to imitate the unconscious behaviors of the spinal cord. Gdx Oy - and Alx Oy -based charge-regulated field-effect transistors (CRFETs) with a monolayer graphene channel were fabricated and adopted as inhibitory and excitatory synapses, respectively, under the same pulse signals 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 ¹⁾.