Smallest artificial molecular neural-net for collective and emergent information processing

While exploring the random diffusion of 2 bit molecular switches (we define as molecular neuron) on an atomic flat Au (111) substrate, we have found that at least four molecules are required to construct a functional neural net. Surface electron density wave enables communication of one to many molecules at a time-a prerequisite for the parallel processing. Here we have shown that in a neural net of several molecules, some of them could dynamically store information as memory and consistently replicate the fundamental relationship that is found only in a collective and emergent computing system like our brain. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3227887]