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Cultured Chick Forebrain Neurons are Functionally Similar to Rodent Counterpart

A recent important discovery regarding the origin of the mammalian unique six‐layered neocortex is Dugas‐Ford et al.'s confirmation of the conservation of cell‐type homologies of mammalian neocortex in bird's dorsal telencephalon published in 2012 in PNAS. This discovery ended several decades of debate. If birds and mammals feature the same major types of cells, albeit organized differently as seen by the gross differences in morphology, we proposed that a cultured neuronal network formed from dissociated bird forebrain neurons (FBNs) should demonstrate functional similarities with its mammalian counterpart. To test this hypothesis, embryonic chick FBNs were dissociated and cultured on a microelectrode array (MEA) chip. The behaviors of the neuronal networks formed from the FBNs were examined, evaluated, and compared with results from rodent counterparts in the literature in five functional aspects: suitability to mammalian neuron‐preferred culture medium, lifespan, patterns of spontaneous spiking activity (SSA) recorded using MEA technology, responsiveness to selected classic neuroactive agents, and EC50 (concentration that results in 50% of maximum response) values regarding these agents. Results show that chick FBN network in culture demonstrated remarkable similarities in all five functional aspects, and no noticeable functional differences were observed in our experimental setting. In conclusion, 1) results from this study support our hypothesis; 2) this is the first line of in vitro functional data that support the cell‐type homology findings by Dugas‐Ford et al.; therefore, 3) these findings are of significant value in comparative and evolutionary physiology and biology.