Raising an artificial 6-month-old brain, for the first time, a baby-like brain wave is emitted

A breakthrough has just been published by neuroscientists at the University of California San Diego, after they recorded electromagnetic waves emitted from mini artificial brains that are grown in the lab. These electromagnetic waves resemble the waves of a developing fetal brain.

The progress of mini artificial brains opens up hopes that allow us to delve into brain diseases, such as congenital epilepsy in babies. Because of a defect in the brain from the time of the fetus, these children have been infected since they were not born.

But scientists cannot study that process on the real fetus. At this time, the electromagnetic waves in the mini artificial brain can reveal the cause of the epilepsy. Since then, scientists can find ways to treat children.

Microscopic snapshot of a mini artificial brain that scientists develop.

The findings were recently presented by scientists at the American Neuroscience Association Conference. The research team led by neurologist Alysson Muotri used stem cells to develop hundreds of artificial mini brains, also known as the "organoid".

They are kept for 10 months. From the original stem cells, Muotri and his colleagues instructed them to transform into cortical tissue, which is responsible for the perception and analysis of human sensory data.

After the artificial brains developed in petri dishes for about 6 months, the researchers discovered very special electrical signals emitted from them. These signals are significantly stronger than those obtained from every other mini artificial brain that has been developed before.

However, surprisingly, they are not the same as the adult brain waves, but are chaotic like waves emanating from a developing fetal brain. When Muotri and his colleagues compared this electrical signal to the signal from the brains of premature babies, they found it similar to a fetal brain from 25 to 39 weeks old.

In a commentary on this groundbreaking study in the journal Nature, neuroscientists discussed the significance of new findings.

Hongjun Song, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that the results are really useful for modeling the development of neonatal brain disorders, the disorders that have formed in the period. fetal head

However, Sampsa Vanhatalo, another neuroscientist from the University of Helsinki, thinks that with the same brain wave models, it is not possible to conclude that these artificial brains are similar to the fetal brain.

In fact, righteous science at this time does not understand much about the development of brains, so it will be difficult to know who is right and right at this moment.

They have long been ambitious to create artificial brains to study the developmental patterns of neuropathy, to find ways to treat unfortunate patients who suffer from them.

However, there is still a concern that these brains may develop to the point of being conscious, and when we should consider them as a living and human rights entity.

Scientists are always concerned about conscious artificial brains.(illustration).

The mini brains that Moutri and his colleagues are developing are just a small area of ​​the brain's tissue, but it also worries some scientists.

"The more [the brains] are more similar to the premature babies, the more they cause anxiety , " said neurologist Christof Koch, president and scientific director of Allen Brain Science Institute in Seattle, Washington. know.

Even so, Moutri said he didn't need to worry. At the present time, people cannot even measure consciousness in their own brains. Therefore, it is difficult to know whether artificial brains exist consciously or not.

"This is also a gray area in this period," Muotri told Nature. If anyone proves that his mini-artificial brains are conscious, he will stop his project immediately.