London: Researchers have developed mice with half-human brains to advance the understanding of mental disorders and devise treatments for conditions like schizophrenia, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and rare forms of dementia. The groundbreaking research, reported by The Guardian, involves transplanting lab-grown human brain cells into genetically engineered mice.

According to Anadolu Agency, the scientists focused on mice born without a cerebral cortex or hippocampus, creating space for human tissue to grow. This innovative technique permits researchers to take cells from patients, transform them into brain tissue in the lab, and examine the effects of disorders on human neurons and the potential efficacy of treatments.

Sergiu Pasca, the Stanford University professor leading the study, emphasized the challenges in psychiatry and neurology, stating, "We've been trying really hard as a community to find therapeutic solutions for these conditions, but the reality is that in psychiatry and neurology we've been left behind." He highlighted the complexity and inaccessibility of the human brain, noting that the goal is to make aspects of its development and function accessible for research.

The study builds on existing research into neural organoids, which are lab-grown human brain cells forming miniature structures mimicking some features of real brains. While these organoids hold potential medical value, they also raise ethical concerns regarding consciousness, pain, and animal welfare.

Pasca assured that the research underwent thorough ethical oversight. Emily Jackson, a law professor at the London School of Economics, underscored the importance of animal welfare, stating that the animals would need close monitoring. Pasca reported in Nature that newborn mice received injections with approximately 100,000 human brain cells each. The mice, initially lacking around 14 million mouse brain cells, developed about 4 million human ones, constituting roughly half their brains by volume.