IBM创造出世界上首个人工相变神经元

 　　For computer scientists, creation of neuromorphic systems — those inspired by and modeled after the way neurons in the human brain are structured — has been a longstanding goal.

　　对计算机科学家而言，建立仿神经形态体系一直是一个长期目标，该想法源于且模仿人类大脑中神经元的构成方式。

　　Now, in a significant step toward the development of neuromorphic technologies, a group of researchers IBM's research laboratory in Zurich have announced that they have built a working, artificial version of a neuron.

　　如今，作为关于神经形态技术的发展尤的重要一步，位于苏黎世的IBM实验室中，一组研究人员宣布他们已经发明了一个正在运行的人造神经元。

　　The invention, described in a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, consists of a small square of germanium antimony telluride held between two electrodes. Germanium antimony telluride, a common ingredient in optical disks, is what is known as phase-change material. This means it can change its phase from an amorphous¹ insulator² to a crystalline conductor when hit with a strong enough electric pulse — thus acting³ like both, a resister and capacitor, and mimicking⁵, to a certain extent, the behavior of biological neurons' lipid bilayer membrane⁶.

　　此项发明在《自然纳米技术》杂志上发表，此发明由两个电极之间一小块锗锑碲构成。锗锑碲是制作光盘的常见材料，也就是所谓的相变材料。这就意味着当遇到足够强大的电子脉冲时，其能够从无定形态绝缘体转变为晶体态导体，因此它的工作原理既像是电阻器又像是电容器，从某种程度上来说，它模仿了生物神经脂质双分子层的特性。

　　IBM创造出世界上首个人工相变神经元

　　"In the published demonstration⁷, the team applied⁸ a series of electrical pulses to the artificial neurons, which resulted in the progressive crystallization of the phase-change material, ultimately causing the neuron to fire. In neuroscience, this function is known as the integrate-and-fire property of biological neurons," IBM said in a statement released last Wednesday. "This is the foundation for event-based computation and, in principle, is similar to how our brain triggers a response when we touch something hot. "IBM在上周三发表的一份声明中称："在发布的演示中，该团队在人造神经元上施加了一系列电子脉冲，使相变材料不断结晶，最终导致神经元"点火"。在神经科学领域，这一功能被称为生物神经元的集成--点火属性，它是基于事件的计算基础。从原理上说，与人们接触某些热东西后大脑的反应一样。"This is not the only similarity between IBM's neurons and their organic counterparts. The artificial structures also exhibit "stochasticity," or the ability to produce random⁹, unpredictable results. Biological neurons are stochastic due to fluctuations¹⁰ within the cell — such as changes in ionic conductance and thermal¹¹ background — while these artificial neurons are stochastic because the amorphous state of germanium antimony telluride always changes slightly after each reset¹².

　　这不是IBM神经元与其有机变体的唯一相似性。人造结构也表现出了"随机特性"，或者能够产生随机的、不可预测的结果。由于细胞内部的波动，生物神经元是随机的，诸如离子导电的变化、热背底的变化，而人造神经元也表现出了随机特性，因为锗锑碲的无定形态在每次复位后都有轻微的变化。

　　So why is this stochasticity — which makes the output of a system inherently unpredictable — desirable in an artificial neuron? As the researchers explain, stochasticity lets the neurons accomplish tasks that they would not be able to do if their output were perfectly¹³ predictable — something that may eventually lead to the creation of efficient "cognitive¹⁴ computers" that mimic⁴ the parallel processing architecture of the human brain.

　　那么为什么人造神经元具有随机特性，使得系统输出本身具有不可预测性？正如研究人员所解释的，随机性使得神经元能够完成一些任务，这些任务在输出完全可以预测的情况下是无法完成的，这可能最终会促使高效"认知计算机"的发明，用以模仿与人类大脑平行的处理架构。

　　"Populations of stochastic phase-change neurons, combined with other nanoscale computational elements such as artificial synapses¹⁵, could be a key enabler for the creation of a new generation of extremely dense¹⁶ neuromorphic computing¹⁷ systems," co-author Tomas Tuma said in the statement.

　　合著者托马斯·图马在声明中表示："结合诸如人造神经突触等其他纳米计算元素，随机相变神经元群体成为发明新一代高密度神经形态计算体系的重要推动者。"

1 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

2 insulator   

n.隔离者；绝缘体

参考例句：

• Few substances can equal fur as an insulator.作为绝缘体很少有其他材料能与动物皮毛相媲美。
• A loose mulch acts on the surface as an insulator.疏松的覆盖物在土壤表面起了隔热的作用。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

5 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

6 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

7 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

11 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

12 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

13 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

14 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

15 synapses   

n.（神经元的）突触( synapse的名词复数 )；染色体结合( synapsis的名词复数 )；联会；突触；（神经元的）触处

参考例句：

• Nerve cells communicate with one another at the synapses, where their membranes almost touch. 神经细胞在突触部位彼此沟通，在这里它们的膜几乎接触到一起了。 来自辞典例句
• Glutamatergic synapses are common excitatory chemical connections in mammalian central nervous system. 谷氨酸性突触是哺乳动物神经系统的主要兴奋性突触。 来自互联网

16 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

17 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。