element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Sensors
  • Technologies
  • More
Sensors
Blog A human brain culture has recently learned how to play Pong!
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Polls
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Sensors to participate - click to join for free!
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Group Actions
  • Group RSS
  • More
  • Cancel
Engagement
  • Author Author: Catwell
  • Date Created: 14 Oct 2022 6:39 PM Date Created
  • Views 915 views
  • Likes 5 likes
  • Comments 0 comments
  • research
  • pong
  • startup
  • cabeatwell
  • organic
  • games
  • sensor
  • innovation
Related
Recommended

A human brain culture has recently learned how to play Pong!

Catwell
Catwell
14 Oct 2022

image

Cortical Labs scientists managed to train DishBrain to play a Pong game. (Image Credit: Cortical Labs)

Scientists at biotech start-up Cortical Labs have taught DishBrain, a brain cell culture consisting of 800,000 cells, how to play a Pong game. They say this is the first-ever demonstration of a mini-brain performing goal-directed tasks. DishBrain receives data from an external source and processes it before responding in real time. “DishBrain offers a simpler approach to test how the brain works and gain insights into debilitating conditions such as epilepsy and dementia,” says Dr. Hon Weng Chong, Chief Executive Officer of Cortical Labs.

So, how does it work? The team put human cells (from stem cells) and mouse cells (from embryonic brains) atop an electrode array connected to a Pong game. Distributing electrical pulses to the neurons determined the ball’s position. Then, the neurons’ signals caused the paddle to move up and down. A strong and consistent feedback signal transmits to DishBrain whenever the paddle touches the ball. If the ball missed, which happened often, then it would supply a short, random pulse instead.   

image

The DishBrain cells were viewed under a microscope. (Image Credit: Cortical Labs)

However, DishBrain doesn’t have any consciousness due to its primitive state, but it still learned within five minutes of real-time gameplay not seen in control conditions. The mini-brain improved its Pong gameplay after playing for just twenty minutes. According to the team, this means the cells reorganized, developed networks, and learned.  

“This new capacity to teach cell cultures to perform a task in which they exhibit sentience – by controlling the paddle to return the ball via sensing – opens up new discovery possibilities which will have far-reaching consequences for technology, health, and society,” says Dr. Adeel Razi, Director of Monash University’s Computational & Systems Neuroscience Laboratory.

The team plans to explore how medicine and alcohol impact DishBrain’s Pong playability. They also hope the tech can help test treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The brain culture could become more complex as research advances, but the team is working alongside bioethicists to keep it from gaining consciousness. “We have shown we can interact with living biological neurons in such a way that compels them to modify their activity, leading to something that resembles intelligence,” says lead author Dr. Brett Kagan, who is Chief Scientific Officer of biotech start-up Cortical Labs.

How many cells can create consciousness, if only a simple glimmer? This seems like a horrifying existence, ripe for a science fiction story.

You don't have permission to edit metadata of this video.
Edit media
x
image
Upload Preview
image

Have a story tip? Message me at: http://twitter.com/Cabe_Atwell

  • Sign in to reply
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube