Neuron-like spiking and bursting in Josephson junctions: A review

The superconducting Josephson junction shows spiking and bursting behaviors, which have similarities with neuronal spiking and bursting. This phenomenon had been observed long ago by some researchers; however, they overlooked the biological similarity of this particular dynamical feature and never attempted to interpret it from the perspective of neuronal dynamics. In recent times, the origin of such a strange property of the superconducting junction has been explained and such neuronal functional behavior has also been observed in superconducting nanowires. The history of this research is briefly reviewed here with illustrations from studies of two junction models and their dynamical interpretation in the sense of biological bursting. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Researchers have observed similarities between the spiking and bursting behaviors of superconducting Josephson junctions with that of neurons. Recent studies have also shown similar neuronal functional behavior in superconducting nanowires. The history of this research highlights the origins and dynamic interpretations of these phenomena.