Scientists have grown 3D brain tissue in the lab for the first time in a breakthrough which could speed up finding a cure for dementia or treating brain trauma and disorders, The Telegraph reports.

In a development described as an ‘exceptional feat’, researchers in the US have created tissue which contains white and grey matter and has the same chemical and electrical functions as a human brain.

Scientists will now be able to use the engineered brains to discover how diseases and trauma can be reversed through drugs.

It could speed up treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like dementia or stroke and offer insights into how to fix damaged areas after head injuries.

The 3D tissue can survive for up to two months in the lab.

Currently, scientists grow neurons in petri dishes to study their behaviour in a controllable environment.

Researchers have already used the brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes that occur immediately following traumatic brain injury.

To simulate a traumatic brain injury, a weight was dropped onto the brain-like tissue from varying heights.

The researchers then recorded changes in the neurons’ electrical and chemical activity, which proved similar to what is ordinarily observed in the head injuries of mammals.