'Mini Human Brain' Grown From Stem Cells [Video]

A group of scientists have a grown a "mini human brain" in a laboratory, which could be used for deeper studies on brain development and the occurrence of neurological disorders like schizophrenia and autism.

The scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences grew a pea-sized brain that could be compared to a developing brain of a nine-week old fetus. The only difference is the lack of blood supply in the structure, which makes it incapable of thought.

The scientists started the experiment by collecting embryonic stem cells and adult skin cells, which were then cultured to form a part of an embryo called "cerebral organoids".

The organoids have distinct regions of a human brain like the cerebral cortex and the retina, along with an underdeveloped hippocampus, which, when fully grown, play a crucial role in memory development of an adult brain.

The "mini brains" reached the maximum size of 4mm after two months. It already survived for year, but its size remained the same. Although it did not grow any larger, Dr. Juergen Knoblich, one of the researchers, is confident that these organoids will be a vital factor in future brain studies.

 "What our organoids are good for is to model development of the brain and to study anything that causes a defect in development," Knoblich said as reported by BBC. "Ultimately we would like to move towards more common disorders like schizophrenia or autism. They typically manifest themselves only in adults, but it has been shown that the underlying defects occur during the development of the brain."

Previous research produced brain cells, but this is the first time scientists were able to replicate brain tissues in three dimensions and it is the closest to creating a human brain in a laboratory.

"I think it's just mindboggling. The idea that we can take a cell from a skin and turn it into, even though it's only the size of a pea, is starting to look like a brain and starting to show some of the behaviors of a tiny brain, I think is just extraordinary," said Paul Matthews, a professor from the Imperial College London.

Aside from the potential use for research about neurological disorders, these organoids could also replace rats and mice in clinical research for medicine and treatment that could be tested on brain tissues.