New Device Detects Brain Waves in Mini Brains Mimicking Early Human Development

Pea-sized brain blobs are a chatty bunch. Packed with neurons that spark with electrical activity, brain organoids—or “mini brains”—are a now popular way to study the human brain.

Some organoids model the brain’s wiring during early development. Others, made from patients’ skin cells, retain DNA mutations that could lead to schizophrenia or autism. Scientists studying mini brains hope to find patterns associated with diseases and test ways to fix them.

But it’s harder to record activity in organoids than neurons lying flat in a dish. Traditional electrode arrays are too large and stiff. More recent soft electronics are a better fit, but they can only record a fraction of each organoid at a time. This makes it difficult to figure out how all the neurons work together and could miss key aspects of the way the brain functions as a whole.

Recently, a team at Northwestern University and collaborators offered up a unique solution: A pop-up electrode mesh that envelopes entire mini brains. Each device starts out as a flower-like lattice before transforming into a breathable 3D net that gently wraps around brain organoids. The device’s 240 microelectrodes simultaneously capture electrical activity from nearly the entirety of an organoid’s surface, providing a birds-eye view of overall function.

Using the device, the team detected brain-wave-like electrical oscillations rippling across the organoids. Thanks to its porous design, the mesh allows nutrients—and drugs—to flow through. In several tests using drugs known to spike or lower neural activity, the device readily picked up changes across the mini brain, hinting at its potential as a drug testing platform.

“This advance is really about building the right tools…we can now record from and stimulate hundreds of locations across [an organoid’s] surface at once. This allows us to study neural activity at the level of whole networks rather than isolated signals,” said study author Colin Franz in a press release.

Listening In

Technologies that tap into and alter brain activity have exploded in variety and efficiency. Some sit on top of the brain, under the skull, to monitor large areas. Others directly record a vast number of single neurons as they fire away. Trusty non-invasive methods like electroencephalograms (EEG) have mapped whole-brain activity for over a century.

Recording from mini brains is different. Recording devices meant for the human brain are far too bulky. Those designed for cells in petri dishes break if they’re bent.

“Integrated circuits in consumer electronics are perfectly planar, sitting on wafer-based substrates,” said study author John Rogers. “That conventional layout represents a very significant geometrical mismatch relative to the spherical shapes of these organoids.”

Scientists have recently turned to mesh-like electrode systems that are more flexible, such as a basket-like design inspired by Japanese paper folding. Another, shaped like a flower, turns into an electrode-studded claw to grasp organoids. Most of these can record single cells as the organoids develop without changing their shape or cellular and genetic makeup.

Researchers already use these designs to eavesdrop on a variety organoids. But the devices struggle to capture whole-brain dynamics. Some have just a few dozen electrodes; others cover only a small region. To truly decipher mini brain activity, scientists need full-coverage hardware.

Shape Shifter

The new device is like a draw-string coin purse. It starts out completely flat like a flower and then gradually cinches itself into a soft, flexible mesh that envelops the mini brain.

Matching the mesh to the organoid’s shape without damage is one challenge. Another is to ensure all 240 electrodes are distributed across a mini brain’s entire surface.