Material Strategies for Stimulation and Recording in Neural Biocomputing Platforms

Abstract

Neural biocomputing is an emerging computing paradigm in which living neural networks serve as substrates for information processing, offering adaptive and energy-efficient alternatives to conventional silicon-based architectures. In these systems, understanding how information is written into and read out of the living substrate is essential. Stimulation and recording interfaces represent a central element for neural biocomputing, positioning electronic materials as key enabling components. This review examines material-based strategies for interfacing with in vitro neural systems, focusing on how materials influence the input stimulation and output recording. On the input side, we discuss electrical and optical stimulation approaches, highlighting how interface chemistry and structural design using metals, conductive polymers, nanostructures, and photoactive materials control charge transfer, spatial precision, and biological compatibility. On the output side, we review advances in electrical and optical recording technologies, emphasizing soft, hydrated, and transparent materials that reduce impedance, improving signal fidelity, and enabling monitoring of 3D neural tissues and organoids. We discuss emerging multimodal platforms that integrate electrical and optical functionalities within single material systems for simultaneous stimulation and recording. By positioning electronic materials as active agents of signal encoding and decoding, this review outlines key challenges and design principles for neural interfaces in biocomputing.