By growing and manipulating human brain tissue in the living laboratory of a rat’s brain, researchers can observe effects on the animal’s behavior, said Sergiu Pasca, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine. 12 in Nature, demonstrates a method for performing experiments that would otherwise be invasive, difficult or impossible. The research, described in a study published online Oct.
Advancing research into mental disorders and brain development, Stanford Medicine investigators have successfully connected living human nerve cells, or neurons, and supporting brain cells with the brain tissue of rats to form hybridized working circuits.
