Cell Stem Cell: 3D printer creates living brain tissue

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA) have printed living tissues of the cerebral cortex and the corpus callosum with a 3D printer.

They will be used in order to study brain function and various pathologies, for example, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

The researchers' work was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

To create the brain, researchers used a special bio-ink from induced pluripotent stem cells. They were strong enough to assist brain function and could enable the printed neurons to communicate with each other.

Also, researchers used horizontal printing technology, which is not considered traditional.

They created the cerebral cortex and the striatum, the latter of which plays a key role in the regulation of body movements, as well as in the processes of planning, motivation, and reward.

The new method gives researchers a huge potential for studying brain functions and pathologies, effectively creating complex communication networks of the human brain.

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