Stanford scientists grow human brain tissue inside mice, filling more than 90% of missing cortex space

Stanford scientists have created a new model for studying human brain development by transplanting lab-grown human brain tissue into mice that were engineered to lack most of their cerebral cortex. Within months, the human tissue not only survived but expanded to occupy more than 90 percent of the cortical space, forming working connections with the mouse brain and spinal cord. The study titled 'Developmental xenocortication using human-derived organoids in mice' was published in Nature online on September 16. According to Stanford Medicine, this breakthrough offers a rare chance to observe how human neurons mature, interact and respond to injury inside a living, behaving animal, opening fresh avenues for research into conditions like autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia and cerebral palsy.Why the cerebral cortex mattersThe cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain that supports many of the abilities we think of as distinctly human, including complex thought, language, attention and decision-making. Studying how this region develops and functions has long been difficult because living human brain tissue is rarely accessible for research. Animal models have helped, but many biologi...