In a recent study published in the journal Nature Communicationsfor the first time, researchers have shown that the organoids cerebralor mini human brains, are capable of forming functional connections with mouse brain tissue and to respond to visual stimuli.
After implanting the brain organoids into the animals’ cortices, the study authors used a variety of imaging techniques to confirm the formation of “human-mouse synapses.”
In recent years, brain organoids have emerged as a promising model for the study of neurological development and disorders. Created from stem cells, these miniature cortical replicas produce their own neural activity, but have never previously been observed to connect with surrounding tissue to participate in a synchronized response to external stimuli.
The main obstacle to demonstrating this phenomenon has always been technological, as existing electrode arrays are not thin enough to record such nuanced activity, however the researchers were able to overcome this obstacle by using platinum nanoparticles to create transparent graphene microelectrode arrays.
When the mice were presented with a visual white light stimulus, the researchers were able to use these implanted electrodes to simultaneously measure neural activity in the organoids and surrounding brain tissue. In doing so, they revealed that both reacted to the stimulus. likewise.
“No other study has been able to record optically and electrically at the same time. Our experiments reveal that visual stimuli evoke electrophysiological responses in organoids, corresponding to responses in the surrounding cortex.”
explained thestudy author Madison Wilson in a declaration.
How the study of brain organoids has evolved
Using a highly refined microscopy technique called two-photon imaging, the team was able to demonstrate that mouse blood vessels had begun to extend into human brain organoids, supplying them with nutrients and energy. Brain wave activity within the organoids also synchronized with that of the surrounding tissue, indicating that functional connections had been established between human and mouse cortical tissues within three weeks of implantation.
“With conventional metal electrodes, we would not have had a clear field of view to examine the organoid graft and proximity to the sensory cortex”
write the researchers, adding:
“the success of our experiments depended on the engineering of flexible and transparent graphene devices.”.
The study authors continued their observations for eleven weeks and demonstrated that human brain organoids integrate functionally and morphologically into mouse cortices.
“We envision that, further down the road, this combination of stem cell and neuroregistration technologies will be used to model disease under physiological conditions at the neuronal circuit level, examine candidate treatments on patient-specific genetic background, and evaluate organoid potential for restore specific lost, degenerated or damaged brain regions”
finally, they write, in what could be a very important future step for further studies and who knows, maybe in the not too distant future they can also be used on humans.
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