Electrical patterns in ‘mini-brains’ can’t be distinguished from premature babies, study reveals

Written by Kimberley Ndungu (Future Science Group)

Credit: Michael Schwartz, Morgridge Institute for Research

In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, a team of researchers from the Univeresity of California San Diego (CA, USA) have achieved an unprecedented level of neuronal networking in cortical brain organoids, also known as 'mini-brains'. The researchers examined EEG data from 39 babies born up to 3.5 months premature and, using the observed EEG patterns, developed an algorithm that was able to predict their age. They then applied this algorithm onto the laboratory-grown brain organoids to assign them an age. Data from the study revealed that the electrical impulse patterns for 9-month-old brain organoids were similar to those...

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