Tiny brains created from SKIN could lead to cures for disorders like schizophrenia and autism Scientists used stem cells to grow 3D tissue that mimics a brain The cells displayed an organisation similar to that seen in the early stages of the developing human brain's cerebral cortex - also known as grey matter The miniature brains helped the researchers identify a defect that affects normal brain development in microcephaly leading to a smaller brain The findings could eventually lead to treatments for other neurological disorders Scientists have created pea-sized brains from a patient's skin that could lead to cures for common neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Using stem cells - master cells that can turn into almost any cell type in the body - researchers grew skin cells into 3D tissue that mimics a brain. They formed into a variety of regions capable of influencing each other and displayed an organisation similar to that seen in the early stages of the developing human brain's cerebral cortex - often referred to as grey matter. Image shows a comparison between a developing brain (left) and the organoid (right) that the team created Professor Juergen Knoblich, of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, derived the iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) from the connective tissue of a patient with microcephaly. This is a rare but devastating genetic disorder in which brain size is dramatically reduced leaving the sufferer with severe mental disability. Like many neurological conditions, the disease has been difficult to study in mice because they do not share the same brain complexity as us. The new miniature brains - called cerebral organoids - helped the researchers identify a defect that affects normal brain development in microcephaly leading to a smaller brain. The cells disrupted in humans do not undergo the same expansion in mice explaining why mouse models have been unable to replicate the severity of this disorder, said the researchers. The team used a 3D matrix scaffold that mimics the environment of a human embryo and special lab devices, called spinning bio reactors, which produce nutrients and oxygen, to grow the brains. Image shows a cross-section of an entire organoid Professor Knoblich said: "We turned patient derived cells into primitive cells called iPS cells and then used those to generate the cerebral organoids and compare them to ones from healthy patients. Ultimately, we would like to use them to study more common disorders like schizophrenia or autism as it has been shown the underlying defects occur during the development of the brain. We are satisfied - or we hope - we will be able to model some of these defects as well. He said the cultures also offer hope of testing drugs in a human setting to avoid animal experiments and get more informed results which become easily transferable to cures in humans. Dr Oliver Brustle, a neuro-pathologist and renowned expert in stem cell research at Bonn University in Germany, reviewed the study for the journal and described it as "remarkable." They displayed an organisation similar to that seen in the early stages of the developing human brain's cerebral cortex. Image shows a magnified picture of an organoid He said: "The authors find when left to aggregate under appropriate conditions neural cells generated from human iPS cells self-organise into cerebral organoids - up to pea-sized miniatures of developing human brain tissue. These structures are not just peculiar lab artefacts. As the authors show the organoids recreate early steps in the formation of the human brain's cerebral cortex and so lend themselves to studies of brain development and neuro-developmental disorders. Dr Martin Coath, from the Cognition Institute at the University of Plymouth, questioned why anyone would ever want to create a "real" human brain. "A human brain that was "fully working" would be conscious, have hopes, dreams, feel pain, and would ask questions about what we were doing to it," he said. Something we have grown in the lab, but on a much simpler level than a human brain, might be hooked up to electronic eyes, ears, and hands and be taught to do something - maybe something that is as sophisticated as many simple living creatures. That doesn't seem so far off to me. Neuroscientist Professor Paul Matthews, from Imperial College London, said: "This study offers the promise of a major new tool for understanding the causes of major developmental disorders of the brain such as autism and schizophrenia, as well as testing possible treatments. Treatments are still a long way off, but this important study illuminates part of the pathway to them. Stem cell scientist Dr Zameel Cader, from Oxford University and the John Radcliffe Hospital, described the research as "fascinating and exciting." He added: "The structure they have generated is a long way from a real brain and the challenges for creating even a primitive foetal brain remain daunting. Hopes to recreate a real brain therefore remain distant. The proper organisation and blood supply of the brain are not present in this model and are major limitations. However, their model is audacious and the similarities with some of the features of a human brain are really quite astounding.