A musical instrument using in vitro neural networks.

This paper presents a musical instrument, which uses in vitro neuronal networks to synthesise sounds. Cultures of dissociated neurons are grown on a dish with an embedded rectangular array of electrodes (MEA). Isolated neurons reconnect with one another via an extensive network of synaptically connected projections to form a dense monolayer of neurons. Cultures are provided with stimulation, which influences their activity, and can modify the culture’s state. The core of the sound synthesis engine of our musical instrument is a monophonic additive synthesizer using sinusoidal oscillators. We devised a method to generate frequencies, phase and amplitude values for the oscillators from the electrical activity of the neurons.