A thin film of electron-trapping material (ETM), when combined with suitable optical bistability, is considered as medium for optical implementation of bio-inspired neural nets. The optical mechanism of ETM under blue light and NIR exposure has the inherent ability at the material level to mimic the crucial components of the stylized Hodgkin-Huxley model of biological neuron. Combining this unique property with high resolution capability of ETM, a dense network of bio-inspired neurons can be realized in a thin film of this infrared stimulable storage phosphore. The work presented here, when combined with suitable optical bistability and optical interconnectivity, has the potential of producing an artificial nonlinear excitable medium analogue to cortical tissue.