Multiregional Brain-on-a-Chip
A bioengineering group at Harvard has built a brain-on-a-chip that models the neural connectome. This microfluidics device has living cells and proteins representing the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, and by having all three in the same platform, they are able to see protein expression, metabolism and electrical activity as the regions interact with one another. Quoting directly: “To demonstrate the chip’s efficacy in modeling disease, the team doped different regions of the brain with the drug Phencyclidine hydrochloride — commonly known as PCP — which simulates schizophrenia. The brain-on-a-chip allowed the researchers for the first time to look at both the drug’s impact on the individual regions as well as its downstream effect on the interconnected regions in vitro.” MORE
Image Credit: Disease Biophysics Group/Harvard University