Goal-directed learning in cortical organoids

Experimental neuroscience techniques are advancing rapidly, with developments in high-density electrophysiology and targeted electrical stimulation enabling single-cell-resolution recording and stimulation. Cortical organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells show great promise as in vitro models of brain development, function, and disease. In this work, we demonstrate goal-directed learning in brain organoids through feedback-driven neural plasticity. We developed a closed-loop electrophysiology framework to embody mouse cortical organoids into a pole-balancing task ("cartpole") and evaluated performance improvements when delivering high-frequency training signals. We found that, for most organoids,…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• SF
  Schmidt Family Foundation
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
• NH
  National Human Genome Research Institute