Learning and synaptic plasticity in 3D bioengineered neural tissues.

Though neuroscientists have historically relied upon measurement of established nervous systems, contemporary advances in bioengineering have made it possible to design and build artificial neural tissues with which to investigate normative and diseased states [1-5] however, their potential to display features of learning and memory remains unexplored. Here, we demonstrate response patterns characteristic of habituation, a form of non-associative learning, in 3D bioengineered neural tissues exposed to repetitive injections of current to elicit evoked-potentials (EPs). A return of the evoked response following rest indicated learning was transient and partially reversible.

A 3D Tissue Model of Traumatic Brain Injury with Excitotoxicity That Is Inhibited by Chronic Exposure to Gabapentinoids.

Injury progression associated with cerebral laceration is insidious. Following the initial trauma, brain tissues become hyperexcitable, begetting further damage that compounds the initial impact over time. Clinicians have adopted several strategies to mitigate the effects of secondary brain injury; however, higher throughput screening tools with modular flexibility are needed to expedite mechanistic studies and drug discovery that will contribute to the enhanced protection, repair, and even the regeneration of neural tissues.

Matrix Deformation with Ectopic Cells Induced by Rotational Motion in Bioengineered Neural Tissues.

The brain's extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic protein-based scaffold within which neural networks can form, self-maintain, and re-model. When the brain incurs injuries, microscopic tissue tears and active ECM re-modelling give way to abnormal brain structure and function including the presence of ectopic cells. Post-mortem and neuroimaging data suggest that the brains of jet pilots and astronauts, who are exposed to rotational forces, accelerations, and microgravity, display brain anomalies which could be indicative of a mechanodisruptive pathology.

A Long-Living Bioengineered Neural Tissue Platform to Study Neurodegeneration.

The prevalence of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases continues to rise as age demographics in the population shift, inspiring the development of long-term tissue culture systems with which to study chronic brain disease. Here, it is investigated whether a 3D bioengineered neural tissue model derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can remain stable and functional for multiple years in culture. Silk-based scaffolds are seeded with neurons and glial cells derived from hiPSCs supplied by human donors who are either healthy or have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.