The memtransistor (a blend word from Memory Transfer Resistor) is an experimental multi-terminal passive electronic component that might be used in the construction of artificial neural networks.
[2] This technology is different from the 1T-1R approach since the devices are merged into one single entity.
A neural network produced from these would provide hardware-based artificial intelligence with a good foundation.
An example of such a learning rule is spike-timing-dependant-plasticty by which the weight of the synapse, in this case the conductivity, could be modulated based on the timing of pre and post synaptic spikes arriving at each terminal.
The advantage of this approach over two terminal memristive devices is that read and write protocols have the possibility to occur simultaneously and distinctly.