The new brain-on-a-chip simulates the connection between brain regions
Anna Stavina, XX2 century
Scientists from Harvard University have developed a multi-regional "brain-on-a-chip" model. The device reproduces the connection between three different parts of the brain. The model has already been used to study in detail the differences between neurons from different regions of the brain and model system connections.
The image shows various areas of the brain model,
connected to each other by long processes of neurons, axons.
The results of the study are published in the Journal of Neurophysiology (Dauth et al., Neurons derived from different brain regions are inherently different in vitro: A novel multiregional brain-on-a-chip).
"The brain is much more than individual neurons," says co–author Ben Maoz, a member of the Disease Biophysics Group at the Harvard John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, SEAS. – A lot depends on different types of cells and the connection between individual areas. Doing brain modeling, you have to reproduce these connections, because many diseases disrupt them."
"Approximately 26% of the American healthcare budget is spent on combating neurological and mental illnesses," says Kit Parker, professor of bioengineering and applied physics at SEAS. "Developing tools that can help physicians alleviate the suffering of patients with neurological and psychiatric diagnoses is not only a gesture of humanity, but also the best way to reduce costs."
Researchers have created a model that reproduces the three areas of the brain that are most affected by schizophrenia. These are the amygdala (amygdala, or amygdala), the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.
The work began with the determination of cell structure, protein expression, metabolic processes and electrical activity in vitro, separately for each of the areas.
"There is nothing surprising in the fact that the neurons of different parts of the brain differ from each other. It's amazing just how different they are," says study co–author Stephanie Dauth, an employee of the Biophysics of Diseases Group. – We found that many in vitro indicators change depending on which area of the brain we work with. And what part of the brain the neurons were obtained from matters."
Then a group of researchers began to study the changes that occurred in the neurons when they interacted with each other. To do this, the scientists grew groups of cells separately from each other and gave them the opportunity to "communicate" through conductive pathways embedded in the chip.
The researchers again measured electrical activity and other indicators and found that neurons from some areas of the brain, in contact with cells from others, change significantly.
"When cells from different parts of the brain interact with each other, they undergo a number of changes. The structure of cells changes, electrophysiological characteristics change, the internal characteristics of neurons change," explains Maoz. – This shows us how important it is to use cells from different areas of the brain during in vitro experiments. Especially if the research is devoted to the effect of diseases on interconnected brain areas."
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the new brain-on-a-chip model, the researchers added phencyclidine hydrochloride, better known as PCP, to cells from various brain regions. The effect of this substance in the experiment simulates schizophrenia. The device allowed scientists for the first time to simultaneously assess the effect of a chemical compound on individual brain regions and on the connections of these regions with each other.
The new "brain-on-a–chip" model can be useful in the study of neurological and mental diseases, including drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries.
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16.01.2017