Future integration of artificial intelligence in biological settings imposes a non-negotiable requirement for advanced aqueous synapses, demanding not only biocompatibility in proper aqueous environments but also high-order behavior with multimodal functionalities, which, nevertheless, remain underexplored. Herein, we report an interesting light-bio-matter interplay, i.e., the one among light, neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) and graphene transistor, and thereby the configuration of an aqueous high-order tripartite synapse (TPS) capable of co-modulation by electricity, light and DA in the physiological media. Notably, beyond a unique antagonistic effect between light and DA, we further observe that the low-order and high-order behavior of the TPS could be finely tuned by the light frequency, intensity, duration, and DA concentration. Using this device, sophisticated biological functions of sensitization, habituation, and recovery could be emulated. History-dependent plasticity is further explored to develop dynamic logic to control robotic arms. This study is expected to be a starting point for future development of advanced aqueous high-order synapse.
Xiao et al. (2026) studied this question.