Journal of Neurology Neuron has published a study detailing a video showing 800,000 live human brain cells trapped in a petri dish learning to play a video game. Although it wasn’t a complex video game, brain cells were taught to play. Pongand researchers looked at interactions between cells to better understand how the human brain works. Pong Video games have been used as a platform for research in the past.
“We’ve shown that we can interact with living biological neurons in a way that causes them to modify their activity,” said Brian Keegan, chief scientific officer at biotech startup Cortical Labs. This is the first time scientists have observed anything that qualifies as intelligence other than seeing complete organisms. To observe the interactions between cells during learning, the researchers chose to use Pong. The retro video game Pong was actually trending on Twitter just two years ago, and is popular for its simplicity and use as a learning tool.
This experiment offers new insights into studying and understanding how the brain works. Earlier researchers were forced to use animal tests, or computer models. These developments may eliminate the need for either, and the flexibility of games to simulate the interaction of brain cells during different situations. For example, some games let you play as a journalist, while others simulate different aspects of everyday life.
Kagan’s study used both mouse and human brain cells, derived from stem cells or embryonic mouse tissue. Brain cells were grown on top of microelectrode arrays that stimulated the brain cells and recorded their activity. Once the researchers knew the cells were alive, they began teaching them to play. Pong, and were surprised when the cells successfully moved the ball back and forth. Elon Musk’s Neuralink made news when a monkey was able to play. Pong Using his brain, he demonstrated that electrical interactions in the brain can affect an external electrical device. Kagan continued, “We’ve never been able to see how cells work in a virtual environment before. We were able to create a closed-loop environment that can read what’s happening in cells, giving them meaningful information.” and then change the cells in an interactive way, so they can actually change each other.”
The scientists named the collection of cells the dish brain, and the electrical feedback taught the dish brain how to propel the ball back and forth by allowing the cells to essentially become pedals through electrical interactions. Scientists have often assumed that one could communicate with human brain cells through electrical communication, but direct interaction had never been observed or effected before. It took a while for Elon Musk’s Neuralink to teach a monkey to play Pong With its brain, so the findings discovered by Cortical Labs could advance this type of technology very quickly. Researchers at Cortical Labs hope to teach the dish brain to play. Pong In the state of intoxication, it allows them to observe in depth the functions of brain cells in the state of intoxication.
While DIshbrain is in its infancy, this research has great potential for a variety of applications, from new technologies to treatments for relevant human medical conditions. Or perhaps allowing gamers to play video games without a controller.