Brain in a Dish Comes Alive

[n2doc]

By Alyssa Danigelis
Tue Jun 28, 2011 03:33 PM ET

A stroke is like a meteorite impact. There’s a central “core of death” surrounded by silenced neural networks. So far, no one has figured out a way to turn those neurons back on. But by adding adult stem cells to a "brain in a dish" comprised of rat neurons, researchers at the University of Florida could find a way to reboot the brain -- essentially waking up quiet circuits and regenerating the core.

“We take normal neurons, simulate a stroke event, and implant adult stem cells,” said Thomas DeMarse, a research scientist at the University of Florida who is working on the transplant model with assistant professor of biomedical engineering Brandi Ormerod and PhD student Crystal Stephens.

The brain in the dish, or as the scientists prefer to call it, the "“biologically relevant neural model,” is a computer chip with an array of 60 microelectrodes that measure the action potential of neurons grown on top. The microelectrode array, or MEA, records the brain cell signals so the scientists can analyze them.

“The beauty of the MEA is that it doesn’t just tell you the activity of one neuron, it tells you the activity of hundreds at the same time,” DeMarse said. Using MEAs is not new -- DeMarse used one in 2004 to show that brain cells could be used to control a flight simulator -- but adding adult stem cells to the mix in vitro, that is, in an experiment outside the brain, is the new part.

more

http://news.discovery.com/tech/tech-reboot-brain-110628.html

[Arctic Dave]

1. See, i told my wife watching Elvira's Movie Macabre isn't a waste of time.

:D

[Doctor Hurt]

2. meh.

I'm unconvinced that throwing some cells into a stroked out area will doing anything bur creating some wacky new wiring patterns. Those dedicated neural circuits take a long time to grow, and the conditions that are there in the developing embryo just aren't there in the injured adult.

[fascisthunter]

3. great.... can we grow them in right wingers' heads?

there may be hope after all

[zbdent]

5. that would be like placing a seed on a rock, and watered with

salt water and fertilized with sulfuric acid ... poor brain ...

On the bright side, the dish (not even the brain) would be able to beat Sarah Palin in a debate ... unless it was moderated by Faux ...

[Alameda]

4. Ummm....really don't know what to think about this....

"DeMarse used one in 2004 to show that brain cells could be used to control a flight simulator"

I have to admit, it does sound a little creepy. What kind of brain did the cells come from? Is this a new thing to do with body tissue? Could we find our relatives (or selves) imprisoned in dishes controlling things in the not too distant future???

[buddysmellgood]

6. Excellent. Drink up everyone!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. Already done years ago....

[provis99]

8. Hmmm. Abby Normal brain?