Human brain cells in a dish learn to play Pong

Dishbrain under the microscope - Brain cells living in a dish can perform goal-directed tasks, such as playing the tennis-like computer game, Pong, finds a new study involving UCL researchers. The findings, published in Neuron , could have implications for future research by providing a new perspective on artificial intelligence (AI) models of how the brain works - and a basis for testing the effects of drugs on a little proto-brain, whose decisions can be measured behaviourally. Scientists from UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and other institutions, led by bio-tech start-up Cortical Labs, Melbourne, created a system named Dishbrain to investigate how the brain works. In the experiment, outlined in Neuron, researchers took 800,000 brain cells from both embryonic mice and human brain cells derived from stem cells. They then grew them on top of microelectrode arrays that could both stimulate and read their activity. Electrodes on the left or right of one array were then fired to tell a small number of neurons in the Dishbrain which side the ball was on, while distance from the paddle was indicated by the frequency of signals. Feedback from the electrodes enabled Dishbrain to learn how to return the ball, by making the cells act as if they themselves were the paddle - and, in consequence, moving the panel in their [simulated] world.