Thermal diffusion of Ti through Pt electrode forms Ti atom channels of 1 nm diameter along Pt grain boundaries, seeding switching centers and controlling nanoscale memristive switching. The image shows EFTEM maps of Ti overlaid on HRTEM images for a Si/SiO2 100 nm/Ti 5nm/Pt 15 nm sample in-situ annealed in ultrahigh vacuum at 250 °C for 1 hour.