INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a method for growing and connecting single neurons using geometric patterns to route
the neurons more precisely, cell by cell.The article, “Assembly and Connection of Micropatterned Single Neurons for Neuronal Network
Formation,” appeared in Micromachines, a journal of molecular machinery.Thus far researchers have created simple brain matter using “in
vitro cultures,” a process that grows neurons haphazardly in a clump
The connections associated with these cultures are random, thereby making the brain tissue difficult to study.“In vitro culture models are
essential tools because they approximate relatively simple neuron networks and are experimentally controllable,” said study
“These models have been instrumental to the field for decades
The problem is that they’re very difficult to control, since the neurons tend to make random connections with each other
If we can find methods to synthesize neuron networks in a more controlled fashion, it would likely spur major advances in our understanding
of the brain.”Yoshida and the team looked more closely at how neurons behave and found that they could be trained to connect using
microscopic plates made of “synthetic neuron-adhesive material.” They look like little frying pans with extra handles and “when placed
onto the microplate, a neuron’s cell body settles onto the circle, while the axon and dendrites – the branches that let neurons
communicate with each other – grow lengthwise along the rectangles.”The researchers then connected the neurons, testing if they would
fire simultaneously as predicted.“What was especially important in this system was to have control over how the neurons connected,”
“We designed the microplates to be movable, so that by pushing them around, we could physically move two neurons right next to each other
Once we placed them together, we could then test whether the neurons were able to transmit a signal.”It worked.“This is, to the best of
our knowledge, the first time a mobile microplate has been used to morphologically influence neurons and form functional connections,”
said investigator Shoji Takeuchi
“We believe the technique will eventually allow us to design simple neuron network models with single-cell resolution
It’s an exciting prospect, as it opens many new avenues of research that aren’t possible with our current suite of experimental
tools.”Unfortunately, this is just the first step for this technology, especially considering the millions of neurons necessary to eat,
breathe, and sleep (and use the Internet)
It is, however, a good start.
