Researchers from Japan and France have made significant strides in understanding the human brain by developing a technique to connect lab-grown brain-mimicking tissue in a way that resembles circuits in the human brain. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize the way scientists study the brain and its functions, as well as contribute to the development of new treatments for neurological and psychiatric conditions.
The recent study takes this a step further by linking lab-grown “neural organoids” via axonal bundles, similar to how regions are connected in the living human brain. This approach allows researchers to observe how these bidirectional connections contribute to generating and synchronizing activity patterns between the organoids, displaying some resemblance to connections between two regions within the brain.
Connections and Complexity
The cerebral organoids that were connected with axonal bundles demonstrated more complex activity than single organoids or those connected using previous techniques. Furthermore, when the research team stimulated the axonal bundles using a technique called optogenetics, the organoid activity was altered accordingly, and the organoids were affected by these changes for some time, a process known as plasticity.
These findings suggest that axonal bundle connections are crucial for developing complex networks. Notably, complex brain networks are responsible for many profound functions, such as language, attention, and emotion. Given that alterations in brain networks have been linked to various neurological and psychiatric conditions, a better understanding of brain networks is essential. The ability to study lab-grown human neural circuits will enhance our knowledge of how these networks form and change over time in different situations, potentially leading to improved treatments for these conditions.