
Human brain organoids were transplanted into rats where they were integrated with rat brains successfully. A study published in a scientific journal called Cell Stem claims researchers were able to demonstrate the human brain organoids were activated in response to things like flashing lights. Brain organoids are a clump of human neurons grown in a lab.
Isaac Chen, a physician and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, was the lead author in the study. He said of the work “we focused on not just transplanting individual cells, but actually transplanting tissue. Brain organoids have architecture; they have structure that resembles the brain. We were able to look at individual neurons within this structure to gain a deeper understanding of the integration of transplanted organoids.”
Chen added, “Neural tissues have the potential to rebuild areas of the injured brain. We haven’t worked everything out, but this is a very solid first step. Now, we want to understand how organoids could be used in other areas of the cortex, not just the visual cortex, and we want to understand the rules that guide how organoid neurons integrate with the brain so that we can better control that process and make it happen faster.”