Living xenocortex model emerges as human brain tissue fills mouse cortex
Stanford researchers transplanted lab-grown human cortical organoids into newborn mice engineered to lack most of their cortex; within three months the human tissue filled over 90% of cortical space, formed connections with the mouse brain and spinal cord, and acted as a living xenocortex. The model enables donor-specific studies of human brain development and disease (autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy), with observed von Economo neurons and potential for targeted drug testing, while ethical guardrails continue to be a focal discussion.
