Brain organoids are 3D, lab-grown models designed to mimic the human brain. Scientists normally grow them from stem cells, coaxing them into forming a brain-like structure. In the past decade, they have become increasingly sophisticated and can now replicate multiple types of brain cells, which can communicate with one another.
This has led some scientists to question whether brain organoids could ever achieve consciousness. Kenneth Kosik, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, recently explored that possibility in a perspective article. Live Science spoke with Kosik about how brain organoids are made, how similar they are to human brains and why he believes that brain organoid consciousness is not likely anytime soon.
EC: What are brain organoids, and how do scientists make them?
Kenneth Kosik: A brain organoid is made from stem cells. You can take any person and convert their, say, skin fibroblasts into stem cells, and then differentiate them into neurons. It’s what stem cells are all about — stem cells are called “pluripotent” because they can make any cell in the body.
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