Scientists discover brain is actually two separate organs
Researchers say the finding could reshape how scientists understand memory, consciousness and other brain functions.
- Stanford Medicine researchers discovered the human brain is actually two separate organs, disproving the long-held theory that it developed from a single master cell.
- The forebrain and hindbrain possess distinct cellular origins, with genetic instructions packaged in entirely different ways that lock them onto separate developmental paths.
- While the hindbrain regulates automatic functions like breathing and heart rate, the forebrain supports complex traits including language and abstract reasoning, said Dr Kyle Loh, associate professor of developmental biology at Stanford.
- Armed with this discovery, the Stanford team successfully converted human stem cells into functional hindbrain motor neurons in a laboratory dish for the first time.
- Evolutionary analysis indicates the two regions share a distant common ancestor dating back at least 500 million years, fundamentally changing how scientists understand brain biology.
33 Articles
33 Articles
A recent study shows that the human brain consists of two separate nervous systems that have been folded together during evolution.
The Independent
The Independent (US)Human brain is actually two separate organs, scientists find
The Stanford University breakthrough stands to open new doors for research into fatal neurodegenerative diseases
Scientists say the human brain is two different organs
Researchers at Stanford, Caltech, and UC San Francisco say that recent experiments with mice reveal that their brains are actually two different organs. They extended this finding to human brains. One brain consists of the midbrain and forebrain, which control language and reasoning and are the seat of consciousness, while the hindbrain runs sleep, breathing, hunger, and heartbeat. — Read the rest
Science and Heitech: Researchers at Stanford University have concluded that the human brain is not developed from a single population of the predecessor cells, as previously thought, but from two different cell lines.
New research from Stanford University demonstrates that the human brain is made up of two separate organs with different evolutionary origins, opening new avenues for treating serious neurological diseases.
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