Scientists Gave Human Brain Cells to a Rat. Why?

Scientists transplanted human cerebral organoids ("minibrains") into rats, to better study brain disorders. The neurons grown in vivo looked more like mature human brain cells than those grown in vitro, and they made better models of Timothy syndrome. The human minibrains formed deep connections with the rat brains, received sensory information, and drove the rat's behavior.
Points of Clarification (Q&A based on common comments)
- Why didn't the rat reject the transplant, which frequently happens with organ transplants? /// They used immunocompromised (athymic) rats to avoid the problem of the immune system attacking the transplanted tissue.
- Was the licking behavior really due to optogenetics, or just seeing the blue light? /// A separate group of rats (control group), with a transplant but no optogenetics, also completed the red/blue light water training. They showed no significant difference in licking behavior during red and blue light. This suggests that the differences were really due to optogenetic stimulation of the organoid (not, for example, seeing the light). You can see how the control group did, compared to the optogenetic transplant group, in Figure 5j of the study, link below.
Support the channel: / ihmcurious
More on how minibrains are grown and used, and the issue of organoid consciousness: • Growing "Mini-Brains" ...
On the topic of organoid sentience and playing pong: • Lab-Grown "Mini-Brain"...
Organoid transplant study: www.nature.com...
Sitcom music by John Bartmann: johnbartmann.com

[@derek2593]

"Last I remember, I was about to crash my car. When I woke up, I was a rat."

[@arcturus4067]

Hahaha.... So funny comment 😂

[@Retrenorium]

Crashed intro a truck

[@yun-z]

《that time I was reincarnated as a rat but was trapped in a mad scientist's lab, and the mad scientist turns out to be another rat》

[@Kutsushita_yukino]

Ahh sounds like a light novel title

[@ScionStorm1]

Typical anime plot.

[@bitcoinzoomer9994]

Finally, manmade horrors within my comprehension

[@ultimaxkom8728]

Hurray, just one wrong step away from horrors beyond our mortal comprehension!

[@LexyLexer]

HA

[@Spookspek]

Fuck yeah

[@quazar-omega]

I was looking for this comment, now I can die in peace

[@valkeriejones3818]

Damn, you beat me to it

[@NicolasCermak]

Imagine the rat starts squeaking morse code for "They'll never believe you"

[@LedoCool1]

Good thing I don't understand Morse code.

[@korkukokusu8311]

If rat can think, it probably will cooperate because it will want better life

[@punishanpika]

I'd be: "Huh. So reincarnation is real and this process skips the step where the Unconscious wipes memories of past lives. How interesting."

[@paulgavian90]

Rat will start scratching vinyls ​@@korkukokusu8311

[@ObobWobob]

That's when you pull out your 🐓 and say " they'll never believe you too"

[@Emperor-Quill]

Bartholomouse: "What's wrong with Ratthew?" HoRATio: "Not sure, the human took him somewhere and ever since he's been muttering about some cruel god named "taxes"

[@wildyato3737]

😂😂

[@shanearmstrong7197]

Great love it -not in heavenor earth does our philosophy?

[@necoyouth]

Hey...you misspelled Bartholomeow...it's Bartholosqueak👀

[@lucycarola]

That is way too good. I hope you’re a writer. Sometimes k go on KZbin just for the comments.😂 Witty as hell!

[@ObobWobob]

Cringe asf

[@denissmith7671]

-What are we going to do tonight, Brain? -The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world.

[@xavierrojas7684]

Omg thats why

[@blazednlovinit]

Damn, you beat me to this by 5 days.

[@Meshamu]

@@blazednlovinit And you beat me to being beat to making a Pinky and the Brain reference by about 10 hours. Dang it.

[@brokenacoustic]

*NARF*

[@Dodsodalo]

​@@blazednlovinit You BOTH beat me to it.

[@SWISS-1337]

Ah so this is how Remy was born in ratatouille. They placed human neurons into the sensory area of the Rats brain, so that's why he REALLY loved food lol

[@MP-vc4nu]

They’re training rats to be in US army since they’re cheaper than robotics rn, and cheaper than humans.

[@geronimo5537]

So the "secret of nimh" was actually a true movie predicted in the past.

[@jadehaze7939]

Limbic system got legacy reactions like gag reflex

[@tordlindgren2123]

Yes.

[@porterbays]

those were american brain cells.

[@horsepowermultimedia]

Those scientists are trying to recreate Ratatouille. 💀

[@KenLinx]

More like Rocket Raccoon.

[@DoamBot]

More like Pinky and the Brain

[@elFulberto]

Oh no, they want to splice the brains of a rat and Gordon Ramsey!

[@Riz_not_Rizz]

THE RAT IS REMY, NOT RATATOUILLE

[@elFulberto]

@@Riz_not_Rizz next time you'll tell me it's Link and not Zelda >___>

[@bananajoe9951]

At first I was worried, then they started talking about using rabies. Now I'm terrified.

[@tixium3471]

yaaay. rabies can now spread by human bites!!

[@helenTW]

Same, it's gruesome and terrifying

[@Payday5]

@@tixium3471 we going the walking dead with this one

[@PS64Subs]

@@Payday5 sheesh, not only walking dead, but the crawl back to a non-rotten version resurrection. that sounds like hell. as Forbidden Siren 2 tells us: Eternal life is endless agony, no human would want to physically go through dying over and over again, even if they're effectively immortal from an age standpoint, as long as your brain remains in some way... you'd survive. also, imagine being right in your mind but your body is so rotten you can't even convey it well physically, and you can't speak, only groan. being a typical zombie but you're not mindless as they are would SUCK until breakthroughs can mentally transplant you elsewhere. also the debate of what would essentially become mass necromancy and weather or not raising the dead/rebirthing them is moral... probably not, unless y'know, you consent.

[@leonardoospino3497]

It is a modified version of the virus that infect neurons but does not cause dead of the animal because is not that virulent. Because the virus selects a specific group of cells you can trace those cells in this case the human neurons to know how much they integrated into the rat's brain. Basically, it's an overcomplicated version of a coloring book... just with genetically modified human tissue and viruses that's all.

[@heypankajhere1]

Legend says this mouse went underground with his 4 turtle apprentices.

[@y-i-k-s]

It’s the rat from fort night

[@Ak2TheSky]

@@y-i-k-snah thts the rat from halo: the master chief

[@sayansaha155]

I swear I can hear tmnt music...

[@eliasniewerth]

Knowing science they had to do this with many many more than just one rat

[@Idolikethis]

The best part about this joke is, it is fun. The worst part, you will see this wherever a video is regarding human/rat science videos

[@qawamity]

Call me crazy if you like, but it seems to me that the human tissue in the rat did not control the rat at all. It was integrated into the rat brain. It's like adding a a video capture card to your PC, it doesn't control the computer, it becomes part of it and augments its capabilities. The experiments with blue light demonstrate this integration.

[@ahuman4797]

yeah, like switching your cpu for a new one haha

[@Fasteroid]

Since the human tissue was responding to external stimuli, I think comparing it to an I/O device like a mouse is more appropriate. It gave the rat a new sense, which under the correct conditions can be manipulated to influence its behavior.

[@Kayachlata]

Even in that analogy, the GPU controls video processing. This part of the brain controlled reactions to stimuli and influenced decisions. You could say that it "controlled" those processes and therefore, controlled the rat in some aspects. Take one part of your brain and it does not control you, but merely a part of you, same with this scenario

[@qawamity]

@@Kayachlata, video capture card, not video card. A capture card is sensory, it isn't a GPU in the regular sense. A GPU is ancillary output processor, a capture card is used to process video (and audio) from an external source (generally for use in livestreams) without bogging down the CPU. Similarly, the human neural tissue in the rat brains was employed in sensory processing. It wasn't involved in decision making or learning, outside of processing input for use by the parts that performed those functions.

[@ReatExists]

​@@Fasteroid giving the rat a mouse

[@m0zzar353]

they should do a test to see if rats with human cells are better at solving puzzles than a normal rat.

[@jegga9199]

No they shouldn't.

[@pieguy6635]

Yeah they should.

[@yepisme455]

Maybe they should.

[@xcoldbloom]

They did.

[@xcoldbloom]

This video is bad because it doesn't mention the study where they did exactly this, titled "Forebrain Engraftment by Human Glial Progenitor Cells Enhances Synaptic Plasticity and Learning in Adult Mice"

[@Hhh-j8o]

These scientists need to chill out. The last time this was succesfully attempted, they created Jerma.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Jerma

[@livenishikireaction]

he really is the giant rat that makes all of the rules

[@tacobellemployee7819]

king of the rats

[@nymphmythic454]

Jerma the MewTwo of the streaming world

[@kabbablabba4073]

i would be a wolf. i think so too.

[@maksiksq]

The rat just got an integrated GPU

[@RealValkor]

Lmao made me chuckle ngl

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Hardware upgrade

[@Rasupubegasu]

Bro got the intel integrated graphics 💀

[@ahmadmuraish1144]

They technically upgraded his V-Ram!

[@jacobesterson]

@@ahmadmuraish1144 *V-Rat.

[@yourgenerickid1109]

A rat? I was a rat once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with scientists. And scientists made me into a rat.

[@AcerTheRaccoon]

jimmy

[@FiSH-iSH]

did the scientists really turn you into a rat, or did they actually turn the rat into you

[@CarlosGordo97]

Or were you always a rat and you just didn't realise until those scientists put you in that room?

[@absolution6191]

A rat? I was a rat once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with scientists and scientists made me into a rat.

[@Wasaby50312]

​@@absolution6191a rat? I was a rat once

[@rockercas]

if you give human brain cells to a rat, he will ask for a glass of milk

[@steponkusceponas4085]

but what if you gave it a cookie?

[@NolanPirkl]

I laughed out loud

[@miro_theburger]

​@@UTTPCORNFLAKEskibidi toilet sigma ohio rizz gyatt

[@thaedleinad]

"Dollar store in vitro organoids" Ok, I am taking this one as a song title to my new single.

[@HolyApplebutter]

"When I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of other flesh."

[@Skullkid16945]

This comment is golden. Maybe this is how humans evolve. Maybe we really are just the neurons and we just infect the brain of another animal and hijack their spiecies.

[@doggg4977]

​@Skullkid16945 it's also a 40k reference

[@septicsauce322]

@@Skullkid16945 Warhammer 40k Mechanicus teaser trailer. It is where the quote came from. From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the Blessed Machine. Your kind cling to your flesh, as if it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass that you call a temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal… ...even in death I serve the Omnissiah.

[@Dodsodalo]

Really while this is a Warhammer 40k reference, you could argue it accidentally is a Cruelty Squad reference.

[@Arkimedus]

Flesh for the flesh god

[@kalliaslands9938]

In case anyone was wondering this has actually been done in a human. A patient with Parkinson’s had a cell sample taken which was then cultured into dopanergic neurons. The ethics review then gave special permission for the patient to undergo experimental surgery in which these neurons were inserted into his motor cortex. The procedure appeared to lead to a halt in the progression of his Parkinson’s disease but it is hard to tell until this is being tested on a dozens of subjects

[@kingpiggins292]

Cool

[@glenliesegang233]

I believe stem cells, modified into not brain cells, were used. Hard to get cells from nigro stratum brain region.

[@backseatgamer1808]

that's fantastic

[@rbanerjee605]

I find it difficult to believe it would only be done in one person only if any at all. Unless they were very rich…

[@glenliesegang233]

@@rbanerjee605 agree, unless the modification of any person's millions of stem cells in their circulating bloodstream ca be multiplied in vitro, chemically modified to becoming neural stem cells, then injected through minimal holes in the skull. More exciting is transcranial infrared stimulation of neuron growth, new findings of trating Parkinson's like riding bicycles- look it up.

[@gneu1527]

Imagine how bro must feel being conscious as a rat

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Idk but he seems cheesed to meet me

[@scaredhvh1]

It is like a nightmare

[@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq]

I don't think consciousness is human exclusive Obviously rats don't have the same cognitive abilities as humans but they seem aware to me

[@miufke_]

The rabies part too... Infernal horrors far beyond comprehension

[@miufke_]

Not like we should stop tho cause this will lead to insane breakthrough

[@xSephironx]

"To make it more human, we attach it to rats..." Ah yes very human

[@Telados]

"The design is very human"

[@Arabella-bl9zm]

​@Telados you stole my words lol

[@jonintrovertedpotato3866]

How long would it take to create conscious rats? Big moral doubts, but they are already conscious, dear half-brains.

[@jonintrovertedpotato3866]

​@@Telados Sure it is. How long would it take to create conscious rats? Big moral doubts, but they are already conscious, dear half-brains.

[@ether158]

@@jonintrovertedpotato3866 I mean look what we do to each other, I don't rats are getting an exception

[@PeppermintSwirl]

If we’re not careful, we are gonna have rats who ask “to squeak, or not to squeak?”

[@WhyGodby]

Big cheese is dead, and we have killed him

[@Harsh-tf9he]

every rat has the right to obtain their cheese

[@Qualicabyss]

Brain size probably plays a bigger role in this

[@sournois90]

some rats are just more superior than others

[@thegoodolddays9193]

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of cheese.

[@mcjunior011]

Using rabbies as a marker for differentiating human tissue from rat tissue was genuinely brilliant idea. Rabies is not contiguous for rats, in this case only the human derivated tissue will be infected.

[@alexlifeson8946]

Until you realize the real reason was to develop an effective rabies virus that's carried by rats but only harmful to humans. Thus, another bio weapon

[@suyogdevaiah1114]

It can infect a rat tho

[@mhitman0385]

@@suyogdevaiah1114 highly unliley not to include rabies is a very easily and successfully preventable disease which we have both vaccinated wild animals and humans

[@suyogdevaiah1114]

@@mhitman0385 yes but once infection progress its all over.

[@Sanscripter]

Oh that makes sense

[@user-pu5br4dp6y]

"Man, this is awesome! I've got a whole new way to perceive the world around me an-" "Let's give him rabies."

[@HydroGyro_]

Ethically this is a fucking nightmare

[@master_nooing]

science without ethics achieves multiple breakthrough very quickly my source? war

[@Swaxol]

yeah

[@Arkimedus]

@@master_nooing Depends, sometimes that occurs, other times it becomes pointless cruelty without a real purpose.

[@PS64Subs]

yeah. i don't really want catgirls or dog people or whatever if it means we're making something suffer for it in return.

[@james-2540]

​@@PS64Subs if it benefits the government or any military group then you'll see it soon enough

[@Spliceozome]

I am a neuroscience phd student and I just want to say.I think this channel does a great job explaining the literature

[@saberhap2639]

you just wanted to brag about your study

[@Spliceozome]

@@saberhap2639 not trying to! but there's a lot of oversimplistic "serotonin = happiness" stuff out there so its nice to see people who are very careful making videos

[@Spliceozome]

@Samir Dončić Just an undergraduate degree in bio/psychology/ neuroscience / math depending on what you want to study. Just try to go to a university where you can work in a neuroscience lab as an undergrad, thats the main thing

[@ElonMasks]

​@Prodigious147Possible pathway is to pursue a Master's degree in Neuroscience or Neurobiology. The program will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the brain's structure, function, and related areas of research. MSc in Biophysics can also be relevant to studying the brain and its functions, it primarily focuses on the application of physics principles to biological systems. While there may be overlapping areas between biophysics and neuroscience, a dedicated Master's degree in Neuroscience would offer a more specific and comprehensive education in the field

[@alteraxia1646]

@@saberhap2639 how would you know?

[@VictorTwo2]

Imagine being a rat just living your days in a cage not thinking too much about it and this dude just injects you with grief, misery, future, shame, desolation, joy, hope

[@BattleSlayer]

Not necessarily they do think about it because if you were in a cage all day you would eventually get depressed human or not.. but it's normal because if your depressed it means your doing something wrong. It's not a disease like people claim

[@BattleSlayer]

@VictorTwo2

[@seandunbar6427]

Right except that's not how it works. The brain transplant grew with the rat from birth. It's like they were born with it. Also, those complex emotions don't just come from a little part of our brain. Many of those are conceptual, which require a foundation of language the rat does not have.

[@inmyexpression19]

Me when I was in jail

[@inmyexpression19]

@@seandunbar6427so you’re saying, the unconscious must be taught

[@soulsbourne]

*Modified rabies that specializes on human Brian sounds like the nightmare waiting to leak from a lab*

[@speziell1575]

It doesnt specialize in humans. It was just modified so it doesnt affect anything but human cells. Regular rabies is just as dangerous, probably more, than this.

[@GV5]

@@speziell1575comforting man

[@divs7415]

That was SO much Information for just 9 mins! I'm genuinely fascinated and impressed by this video🙂

[@sandraforeman620]

As the owner of a pet rat, I was so impressed at how she understood so many things, and acted in such a smart way, so quickly. I really wouldn't want her to be smarter! The kisses & love she expressed was so far ahead of most.

[@RoundShades]

It's a curve where rats with satisfied needs and much encouragement embrace positivity and growth of that sort, but humans always think of more and more things to do with more and more gains, to justify taking it away from others and then shrugging off the suffering they cause as a result. Humans are pretty shitty.

[@canobenitez]

yeah it's better to have retarded pets

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

I think most people would be surprised by the intelligence and friendliness of domesticated rats.

[@Ariel333666999]

DUDE. for a second I read "as the owner of the pet rat[...]" (as in, the rat in the study) And I was like, man, where can I buy modified rats

[@fenayev1848]

@@Ariel333666999 modded rats 😭

[@jasper2621]

I like this style of content. A lot of youtube channels turn to overproduced sensationalism when dealing with new technologies/discoveries. Ihm Curious just lays out a summary in a concise, easy-to-understand fashion.

[@jacekstankiewicz1594]

agree most youtubers who talk about this kind of stuff, are like when you wanted to reach the word mark in high school essays, yes you have a bunch of content, but not much would be said. this channel is better

[@dylanfisher6042]

sensationalism - what a great word. Too many documentaries nowadays do this in such a way . No offense to American documentaries but this all too common.

[@bigsmall246]

​@@dylanfisher6042 American documentaries are the only ones that use rock music

[@NiceDZNintro]

@@jacekstankiewicz1594 bro this guy doesn't talk about nothing he just copies text into text-to-speech lmao

[@destinpatterson1644]

​@@NiceDZNintro He very clearly wrote his own script to make it digestible, because I can promise you, no scientific journal would be written like this and I highly doubt he copied and pasted from a website. And that's his real voice

[@Rin-zn9bo]

This was wildly inspiring, thanks for the video

[@SpriteWild]

to...to do what?

[@pou-c]

@@SpriteWild😈

[@massimoscognamiglio7369]

Oh no

[@Rin-zn9bo]

@@SpriteWild Motivate the neuro/bio-tech studies

[@geronimo5537]

So the "secret of nimh" was actually a true movie predicted in the past.

[@nUck_DragonBall]

Bro that was what i was thinking lol

[@tristanmisja]

It makes perfect sense that the human part of the rat's brain acted as if it was originally the rat's. The neurons have been growing with the same conditions and communications as a rat's.

[@pustota7254]

*the

[@tristanmisja]

@@pustota7254 Thanks!

[@pustota7254]

@@tristanmisja no problem.

[@spookyweeb5563]

except you are(probably) not a neuroscientist and this is likely extremely simplified

[@tristanmisja]

@@spookyweeb5563 I'm not a neuroscientist (yet), but I've studied the field a lot. Yes, it's somewhat simplified, but that's the gist of it.

[@ren3171]

As a rat implanted with human brain cells I can confirm this is true.

[@meowman69420]

this comment is funnier because of your profile pic lmao

[@nateo200]

lol

[@GoldbergToastyBred]

yes because if it wasnt true you couldnt comment this

[@redmadness265]

xD

[@MusicGuyFK]

I do not believe you. I believe you are an ape(homo sapiens specifically) on a computer making a joke. I do not believe you are an actual rat but I could be wrong.

[@spencer7539]

The new isekai is going places

[@dipa2184]

War of the planets of apes ❌ War of the planets of rat ✅

[@ecm84ee]

That rat has more human braincells then alot of humans on this planet.

[@GoldbergToastyBred]

lol, nice one

[@Dreptilator]

its just that he doesnt use twitter

[@GoldbergToastyBred]

@@Dreptilator uh yes, we need to keep that rat out of twitter

[@louislowstress]

Acktually that is not possible because the human organisms needs way more braincells to even stay alive. Where is your peer reviewed study?

[@grobble7321]

@@Dreptilatorno it is the smartest Twitter user

[@natasha6867]

"dollar store in vitro organoids" lol if only we could get them at the dollar store. but seriously, i'm a neuroscientist and i didn't know about these types of studies. very cool! and very well and thoroughly explained. thanks!

[@tommytheshimigami]

It's gain of function research...

[@tempy-tq3ix]

wonderful im living the monologue portion of the prequel to Rodent Uprising

[@zebonautsmith1541]

The brain was thinking: "help; get me out of this rat!"

[@metamind095]

Its incredible how you packed this all together in an easily consumable science clip. Keep it up!

[@Vitorruy1]

no clickbait, just a good explanation. Love it.

[@Countertistic]

Literally dont know what 95% of the words he saying means...

[@kiyo211]

​@@Countertisticme too but at least I can get the idea

[@punishanpika]

Imagine if the humans within the rat 🐀 was just as intelligent as a normal human, but liked their life. Then we would be able to go fully into this guilt free. 😊

[@hectornonayurbusiness2631]

They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they never stopped to consider whether they should.

[@mjbaricua7403]

They always should, cowardice holds back innovation

[@just-a-fnf-fan]

@@mjbaricua7403and innovation can sometimes be bad, (not always tho)

[@ThanosDestroyeryearsago]

And they should, Decels are the bane of existence.

[@TheEmolano]

That's like a hardware upgrade for the rat. The "software" of the rat remain intact and took controll of that extra hardware.

[@JavierAlbinarrate]

They lack the correct drivers... do you have a ratASM compiler by chance?

[@somuchtocook9159]

@@JavierAlbinarrate considering that it worked then it was a definite yes

[@ferro9929]

@@JavierAlbinarrate using LLVM, yes

[@christianpiedra1514]

I’d be okay running a social experiment with a group of normal rats and a group of humanoid rats. It would be interesting to see what would happen… for science of course.

[@canobenitez]

how long until the military wants their rat army division

[@Funtermore]

Probably segregation among rats

[@veryangryduckpl2122]

​@@Funtermore Finally, proof that segregation and racism is normal even among animals!

[@Michael-du2fv]

The rats with human brains would enslave the normal rats and force them to start building step pyramids. Then the entire study is classified and all scientists suddenly die in accidents.

[@Angel-ng2gz]

Bad idea imagine a war with self aware rats

[@bananajoe9951]

This reminds me of the book Flowers for Algernon, where they experiment on two patients with down syndrome. One mouse, one human. The experiment works, both subjects display remarkable gains in intelligence, to the point that they are smarter than the average of their species. Unfortunately the therapy it stops working, and we get to read of the mental decline of the human patient. The mouse ends up dying as a result of rapid intellectual decline, it stops eating as a result of depression. The human contemplates suicide as well. Really fucking sad.

[@Fuckalope-cm5dk]

I dont think it was down syndrome, was it?

[@_WilhelmII.]

Exactly what I thought when I saw the video's name and thumbnail

[@E_200daloudlad]

"where am i? i though i was in my bed yesterday playing minecraft... now im a rat? thats cool i guess... at least i dont need to pay my taxes anymore"

[@br9809]

Because they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

[@GalacticNovaOverlord]

Nah, they should. The issue comes in 100 years when someone tries to create super soldiers

[@lantousaturn6115]

"You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension" -Nikola Tesla

[@spritesensation]

Human rat hybrids before gta 6 broooooo 🙏😭

[@DrJohnCarpet]

What if I ate you alive? That wouldn't be polite, would it? - John Carpet

[@knarf975]

I am a medical doctor myself and I feel very sorry for the torture these poor sociable animal have to undergo. Experiments on animals rarely led to something good.

[@NightmareRex6]

shouldent we just be doing exparements on likes of gates fauchi WEF members eta?

[@PaulT65567]

Eh, 20 billion rats are killed by domestic cats each year. If we really care about rats, we should ban outdoor felines much before we stop a helpful component of neuroscience research. It's worth it, is what I am trying to say.

[@fattyMcGee97]

I’ve had many pet rats over the years and I can tell you that I don’t doubt they are self aware without any medical intervention. I’ve watched them display having a sense of self. I’ve noticed this through watching them play into “oh hey, I know I’m cute so I don’t have to work as hard as my brother for treats”, or “damn I’m getting fat and the humans are calling me fat, time to work out and lose weight”. One of my rats absolutely understood that we were calling him fat and he took it upon himself to run on his wheel to lose weight. He even turned down treats and ate a bit less of his healthy food than he used to. A few months later and he was actually in pretty good shape and had a lot more energy. Rats aren’t stupid creatures. I’ve seen rats unscrew jars to get to snacks, open sliding cupboard doors to get into where I kept the snacks, work as a team to try and pull the meal worm box up the side of the cage. They’re very clever little animals and it’s part of why I adore them honestly. I’m not against research like this. I think it’s fascinating and the rats appear to be unharmed. I just think that people need to know that rats probably are self aware.

[@123youbia]

I don't think it's to be self aware. If anything it's pattern learning, if you called them fat and gave no treats to then makes them run on the wheel (somehow) then they'd understand that they have to run on the wheel to get a treat

[@fattyMcGee97]

@@123youbia No, you misunderstand, I didn't incentivise them to run on the wheel with treats. I didn't change my behaviour at all and they started turning down treats in favour of their healthier food. It was their own choice.

[@123youbia]

@@fattyMcGee97 Ok I see, but still they are just very clever then not self aware

[@Pulpo_Pol]

​@@123youbia Humans will just go far and beyond to blind themselves about how intelligent some animals truly are.

[@madman7544]

​@@Pulpo_PolThey'll also go as far to blindly seek meanings in uncomplicated things. (Example: sign language gorilla Koko)

[@patrickmcathey7081]

Well I am sure no comic book villain was given birth with something like this

[@danielwalsh7618]

Well "The secret of NiMH" turned out to be prophetic. 9 year me never saw that coming.

[@statelyelms]

I love the hint of humour while very educationally explaining this brain stuff. I also really appreciate how you go around the comments, answering questions and clarifying things very kindly. What a nice channel!

[@MigraineBuddy420]

Ah yes, horrors beyond human comprehension.😊

[@fenn_fren]

In this case, horrors beyond rat comprehension.

[@thebuilder5271]

@@fenn_frenonly until the rats gain human intelligence 💀

[@Angel-ng2gz]

This shit is actually terrifying because they could become self aware

[@IVeryMuchHateYouTubeHandles]

NPC🥶🥶🥶

[@acousticalit]

@@IVeryMuchHateKZbinHandles you sound more like an npc than anyone else here

[@ladybookworms]

"The researchers wanted to know..." is how my new fav true horror stories start!

[@spadeespada9432]

Once upon a time it was a dark stormy night some researchers were talking and some wanted to know

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Ugh. Thats fucking horrifying. I can't even imagine the mental shenanigans that would ensue.

[@AVX512]

It would be interesting to figure out _how_ the cells decide which chemicals signal what information

[@leagueaddict8357]

Not really mostly the same or very similar compounds, lookalike compounds are known as poison as the brain or budy will use them incorrectly, which is why people sometimes get very sick or worst when eating or drinking the wrong plants whether by accident or not.

[@thatpandaz6094]

​​@@leagueaddict8357hile the brain uses mostly the same chemicals all over they have different jobs. The chemicals themselves don't do anything, it's the receptors response to that chemical that makes a reaction. So when taking drugs for example it's not that the compounds looks similar to one in the brain (which is the case most the time) It's just how well it fits into that receptor in different parts of the brain and more importantly if it can pass the blood brain barrier

[@leagueaddict8357]

@@thatpandaz6094 You are spreading misinformation

[@thatpandaz6094]

@@leagueaddict8357 Educate me

[@geckoo9190]

I think that they could do that because the chemical signals are very similars, those hormones should have been developed way back in the evolutionary scale and didn't change much.

[@eduardobalbino8486]

What an EXTREMELY well made video and presentation, damn! I don't know how much time it took you, but if this effort went into literature reviews of other areas it would exponentially increase both public reach and onboarding/motivating undergrads. Thank you so much for the inspiration (and knowledge, of course!)

[@SaraMorgan-ym6ue]

so to find human brains cell just use rabies sounds dangerous to me

[@aberges]

This is alien abduction-tier stuff

[@TebcWasTaken]

Reincarnated real life for real for real this time💀

[@mickmickymick6927]

I'm glad your here to guide us through the eldritch horrors to come.

[@VimmiiPOV]

We are on the timeline of genetically engineered catgirls aren't we?

[@FrostyHandled]

"poetry is the usage of language to push thought in the direction of important, yet neglected ideas"

[@davib8963]

@@FrostyHandled In the twilight of a daring dream, Where science touches the extreme, In feline minds, humans play, To mingle minds in a peculiar ballet. Once a kitten, soft and small, Now carries thoughts that hold us all, In her eyes, a universe unfolds, As a saga, unlike any, it beholds. Through felinity, with a soft purr, Bearing wisdom, in her fur, In her mind, stars and cells combine, A testament to a design, so divine. A mouse she chases, yet contemplates, In her dreams, mankind she imitates, Beneath the moon's silvery gleam, In her, our essence does dream. In her pounce, philosophy's dance, In her purr, an enlightened trance, Through whiskers, flows the human tide, A testament to the world inside. What once was myth, now stands true, As humans glimpse a feline view, In a creature, cute and small, Echoes the universe, and enthralls us all.

[@derpherp1810]

We are in the Timeline of Secret of NIMH which if that's case ultimately has very little effect on our day to day lives.

[@weltschmerzistofthaufig2440]

@@davib8963 This sounds a lot like a stanzaic poem written by ChatGPT, but if it’s not, then that’s pretty good poetry!

[@davib8963]

@@derpherp1810 Ever read 'Fast Times at Fairmount High'?

[@ScootLogix]

It's begun. Pinky and the Brain is no longer just a cartoon...

[@wlday_]

i want to give a rat a human brain it be like "whats up bro"

[@SkratchersOtherWorseChannel]

She wanted to find out if he'd still love her.

[@danielvanstaden8247]

I really love your videos. I was first recommended your video about neurons playing pong a few months back, and then recently I was watching a lot of videos about psychedelics which is when I saw your video about that (which I absolutely loved, I learned so many things I didn't know about before). I decided to check your channel out and that's when I realised that I'd seen one of your videos before. I was then very pleasantly surprised that both of these had come from the same person and that you had much more quality content too. You are truly underrated, and I wonder what crazy things you'll be talking about in a year from now 😁

[@cognitivedissonance7422]

Soooooo we're doing the live action version of pinky and brain this year, eh? What could possibly go wrong

[@someguycalledCh0wdah]

I remember headlines like 20 years ago like "Scientists Put Human Brain Cells In Lab Animals" and Fox News yelling about it for like three days at one point but I always wondered what was really going on with that and now I know!

[@Saturnius]

What do those morons not scream about? This stuff is going to help hundreds of thousands of children and adults with debilitating diseases that otherwise would entail a lifetime of suffering. But no, my sky daddy didnt approve this or what do the rat feel?

[@conwaytwitty8634]

This show is genuinely funny. I got the giggles learning about human/rat brains fused together.

[@effervescentrelief]

They need to put the human cells into the communication part of the brain and see what happens. In fact, due it to multiples and maybe they will start to communicate in more advanced ways. I should say I find this research highly intriguing as well as disturbing.

[@motivatedpotato6604]

Yeah, i wonder if they could put the human cells on both brain modules, cerebellum and the celebral cortex. So, the rat brain is ingrown with human neurons from every side. And how that would affect their choice making and adaptability

[@tetsmon]

My guess is that it wouldn't affect their communication in any significant way. Human brain cells aren't any more "advanced" than rat brain fells, it's just that more of our brain is dedicated to communication. to get more advanced communication between rats, we would need to somehow promote growth in that specific portion of their brain. But also, I feel like it would have a similar end result as Planet of the Apes

[@NotSoCrazyNinja]

@@tetsmon Genetic engineering to the rescue! I'm sure what you suggest can be done, but should it be done? I say absolutely!

[@ChrisWijtmans]

Incorrect. Human neurons are not the same as a rats. The fuck are you smoking?

[@xbirdshorts5075]

The hypocricy in the last bit about weighing out the benefits when they're already implanting something on animals that can't consent 💀like choose one

[@marza339]

Go complain about stupid nonsense elsewhere

[@xbirdshorts5075]

@@marza339 i mean you're complaining about someone complaining about something. if that's not the ultimate complaining about stupid nonsense then i don't know what is

[@marza339]

@@xbirdshorts5075 I'm not complaining, I'm telling you to get bent.

[@horminel]

Ratatouille boutta become alive real fast

[@philguer4802]

Kinda scary, the idea they can just grow mini brains and experiment on them.

[@petevenuti7355]

Have you seen the thought emporium channel he's working on it! Anybody with the inclination to learn,(and keep good sterile technique), and a conservative few thousand dollars for reagents & growth medium and incubator can at home! The thought emporium channel calls their incubator meatcubator😜

[@Biedropegaz]

and at the end infect them witbrabies virus...madness, not science

[@danielhicks1824]

They're very mini, to be fair.

[@derekofalltrades5494]

Rat: "ooga booga"

[@Beargrim]

I'm a rat Morty, tickle my whiskers. Do it for grandpa.

[@JustinHallPlus]

Unpopular opinion: regular rats are already self aware, so you can't make new "self aware" rats.

[@mo-s-]

based

[@danielboone8256]

Is there any evidence rats can think about themselves, their thoughts (if they have them), or reflect at all?

[@zazzyboy8592]

@@danielboone8256yes it’s called not thinking you are special because you are human. Mammals for the most part are extremely smart and aware creatures

[@danielboone8256]

@@zazzyboy8592 That’s more of a claim than evidence. I could also say that that theory leads to the conclusion that animals are moral agents (assuming you accept the premise that humans are morals agents and the premise that any consciously self-aware person is a moral agent), which contradicts our intuition and experience. So, what evidence do you have for the belief that animals are self-aware?

[@DarthVaderfr]

​@@danielboone8256 well they are aware in the sense that, they react to the environment and are able to learn, It's difficult to say how aware they are

[@gilgabro420]

Could we expand human brains like that? I'd be down.

[@Wyi-the-rogue]

Big brain time

[@winklerdinkler-hh7km]

Bro getting a new cpu

[@Tea_N_Crumpets]

Don’t think so, sadly. Intelligence usually isn’t completely related to brain size or even body/brain ratio, but more by a combination of several factors, particularly by the average time it takes for parts of the brain to communicate (the time that it takes, on average, for a signal to travel from one neuron to the other in the brain, or sort of the neural density). This is why elephants aren’t as intelligent as humans, despite having much larger brains. Their physically larger brains are optimized to handle the massive amount of input from their huge body, and to control that body to keep it running and moving, but the large total neuron count required to do that makes the brain too large to perform a lot of higher-level processing. Think of it as: human brain is akin to a top-of-the-line gaming PC, while a larger brain (like an elephant’s) is like a big server in a server farm. The server might have more total power than the gaming PC, but they’re not comparable because the gaming PC is more optimized for performing singular, complex tasks while the server is meant to process massive amounts of relatively simple tasks. Or at least, that’s how it is as far as I know.

[@gilgabro420]

@@Tea_N_Crumpets well the correlation is 0.3 to 0.4. I totally think that increasing the brain of a person would mean higher intelligence. Bigger animals obviously need more brain mass overall. Well you also have to consider that human brains are much more complex. I mean i get it, woman and man have about the same intelligence despite man having much bigger brains but guys are also bigger on averrage. There is of obviously a lot of other factors but I'd say that you have higher intelligence if your brain is bigger if everything else is equall. You would for instance be more inteligent than your twin if extend your brain and your twin didn't. Well that all hinges on similar performance of the implant and your main brain but I think it could work in the future. There is also the issue that brain development takes decades... :,D I think it could work though. but I would never subject myself to that till it is probably tested. I definitely think this is more promising than neuralink.

[@BattleSlayer]

​@@Tea_N_CrumpetsYea we evolved from monkeys with bigger brains but they weren't as smart as we are now. Funny how we survived the 99 precent extinction life is truly insane

[@buttaflyski]

It's crazy because this video came out a year ago but I was learning about this in my university neurobiology class almost a decade ago... Optogenetics and epigenetics are two of the most fascinating things I've ever learned about

[@He-lo165]

Lets get a super smart rat. I want ratatouille cooking me up some dishes!

[@user255]

You know when the rat brain is overtaken by human brain cells when they start to declare wars and are deeply interested in money and shiny objects.

[@Flahtort]

Skavens

[@batatanna]

Nah that only happens when they're put into a perfect (dys)utopian society made to answer all their needs until they eventually collapse onto each other and go insane.

[@Borgilian]

Oh, so basically they become rat-faced (((talmudic little hats)))?

[@justanotherguyful]

You just described Israel

[@user255]

@@justanotherguyful _"You know when humans have overtaken Israel, when they start to declare wars and are deeply interested in money and shiny objects."_ Yeah, the cancer is everywhere. No need to mention any specific country.

[@pseudonymousgarbage8]

I wonder if it would be possible for the human brain tissue to somehow improve the rats mental abilities. Like a co-processor that can learn quicker and help the rat solve problems?

[@dltr4730]

I think you would run out of space in the skull before achieving significant results that way, but if it isn't too cruel to crack some bones into the right position I would love to see how this could progress (I mean, I think this is how you get Mojo jojo, but c'mon)

[@ICECAPPEDSKY]

@@dltr4730 honestly you are probably better off using a larger animal like a dog for that purpose

[@DogDogGodFog]

@@dltr4730 I don't think physically expanding a skull is possible. Okay well. In babies it may technically be possible, because the skull is not fully fused yet...

[@Pincsi01]

Assuming human brain tissue is any better

[@sanguillotine]

@@DogDogGodFogyes, but that’s a human specific thing, humans are born with unfused skull plates so that they can fit through the narrower birth canals of their mothers. This is not the case with other mammals.

[@vodamiinurl1337]

The fact that they're attempting this means they've run out of real scientific breakthroughs to chase

[@randomhttyddev9245]

We probably have done math wrong if we can't find new breakthroughs in science tbh

[@Knuts_n]

Science isn't made of breakthroughs it's built upon like adding bricks to a castle. Only in extraordinary cases do you see a wall torn down and a new one erected in its place.

[@freezingicy9457]

the fuck are you on. We've made breakthroughs faster than ever, nearly one or more every month. Besides they would attempt this eitherway, breathroughs arent a factor. Scientific experiments aren't motivated through breathroughs. They're motivated through possible breakthroughs. And theres a lot of possible breakthroughs that could happen

[@bradfordlangston836]

This is why I love neuroscience

[@catpoke9557]

This is something out pf a horror movie. Imagine having a piece of brain that doesn't belong in your head and then it starts GROWING in your actual brain until it starts to change how you behave. This feels scarier than a parasite controlling you because it's harder to notice and it feels more.. malicious. Like it feels like the brain itself is choosing to take over consciously even though it obviously isn't

[@ariesleo7396]

It’s more like someone giving you an extra eye, it’s not controlling you, but it’s giving you extra senses.

[@catpoke9557]

@@ariesleo7396 I'm talking about a hypothetical scenario in which it does take control, I should've specified

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

Since the Brain isn't itself sentient and grows with the animal, it pretty much becomes part of that creature. If however you have a sentient brain that is more complex enough to do decision making and can overtake its host brain then yes that could be potentially malicious. Although in order for that to work said brain needs to already be adapted to its host or at least biologically be able to live in a environment similar to its host brain.

[@themarlboromandalorian]

Eh... More like getting a RAM upgrade.

[@conorflinn600]

​@@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent Made me think of some of the tyranids from warhammer that have 2 brains one about as intelligent as a hungry cow with a cannon on it's back with a brain that aims and fires it occasionally having to tell it to move

[@chromyl_chloride]

only 150 comments with a video as well made as this? AND the creator replies to questions with answers? amazing! subscribed.

[@princehickmon2170]

Narf! ... - Pinky 😂

[@popocatepetl7706]

Now let's test a rat minibrain in a human 😂

[@KameroonEmperor]

Absolutely amazing video as always

[@mariaslough5038]

stole my comment argagrh

[@SorakaOTP462]

Imagine you wake up as a rat and you have no way to communicate with scientists telling them that you're self-aware and you're actually a human being.

[@emmioglukant]

I can tell you like 10 things that you can do to communicate that

[@SorakaOTP462]

@@emmioglukant They'll interpret those things as rat having rabies or something.

[@emmioglukant]

I'll give you one nugget, moisture the glass panel holding you and with your fingers write "Ligma" Edit: oh, found a better one, try writing "Jo Mama", and below that draw some nûdês

[@SorakaOTP462]

@@emmioglukant that could work but first thing that would come to scientist's mind is that some human wrote it when he sees it.

[@emmioglukant]

@@SorakaOTP462 bruh you can just write when someones nearby, and I'm not even going to get into what things you can do with only your body to grab their attention, and communicate that you are a human

[@trueMSB]

How did we get the human brain cells?

[@NEONetior]

Imagine walking back to your lab and the rat greets you with "Hello Doctor."

[@RayMak]

Reminds me of Guardians Of The Galaxy 3

[@Scaredofphobias]

Too bad I didn’t watch it- so I don’t really get the reference

[@liam8370]

the last part: what if rats develop conciousnes? me: ah yes the equivalent of "it's all fun and games until we find out we're the rats and alines are the researchers"

[@LilB0pete]

100% chance that rat is adopting turtles lol

[@danielavanilla4331]

The animal evolution Dreamworks theory becoming more than just a dream fr fr 🔥

[@thecreaturecalledpete1511]

This is going to breed some sort of science fiction horror in the point of view of a rat who suddenly gains human level of intelligence.

[@nerdingout322]

Oh yeah. Totally wont be used for anything dubious in 50 years. 😵‍💫

[@navarog378]

No, the United States of America is not currently developing self-replicating biomechanical killer drones

[@trajectoryunown]

Probably already is.

[@AutonaMech]

@@trajectoryunown considering we cant even handle production for conventional weapons out of wartime + incompetency, im 99% sure it is not currently being worked on