Model Brain Cells

Neurons are stimulated to study epilepsy.

Cedars-Sinai scientists have created biorealistic, multimodal and data-driven computer models of human brain cells to form a complete picture of the electrical, genetic and biological changes brought about by epilepsy. Such models can be used to test hypotheses that would otherwise require dozens of experiments. “These artificial intelligence models capture a repertoire of what we know about neurons, including their shape and the timing and speed of the electrical signals that neurons fire to communicate with each other, which is considered the basis of brain function,” says Costas Anastassiou, PhD, research scientist in the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and senior author of the research, which was published in Cell Reports. The team employs high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to study brain cell function and disease.