Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Unveiling the procoagulant state in Alzheimer's disease: A novel PET imaging strategy.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2026
Same author

Chd4 and ThPOK cooperate to preserve structural and electrophysiological integrity of the adult heart through Sprr1a repression.

The FEBS journal·2026
Same author

Recurrent intermittent hyponatremia: A new experimental model.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Biomarkers.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025
Same author

Biomarkers.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025
Same author

Alzheimer's Imaging Consortium.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025
Same journal

Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Sub-second fluctuations between top-down and bottom-up modes distinguish diverse human brain states.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Queen bees offload pesticide burden to eggs when social buffering is overwhelmed.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Pitch selectivity in ferret auditory cortex.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

A cell size-dependent competition between geometry and polarity governs nuclear and spindle positioning in early embryos.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Trophic cascades drive sustainability in the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

Current biology : CB·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Stem cell-like Xenopus Embryonic Explants to Study Early Neural Developmental Features In Vitro and In Vivo
11:13

Stem cell-like Xenopus Embryonic Explants to Study Early Neural Developmental Features In Vitro and In Vivo

Published on: February 2, 2016

Waking-like brain function in embryos.

Evan Balaban1, Manuel Desco, Juan-José Vaquero

  • 1Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Experimental, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, 28007 Madrid, Spain. evan.balaban@mcgill.ca

Current Biology : CB
|May 8, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Chicken embryos exhibit inducible waking-like brain function before hatching, suggesting learning can occur earlier than previously thought. This prenatal brain activity is modulated by sensory stimulation, revealing developmental insights into fetal brain states.

More Related Videos

Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior
07:53

Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior

Published on: May 26, 2023

In Vivo Whole-Brain Imaging of Zebrafish Larvae Using Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Microscopy
06:27

In Vivo Whole-Brain Imaging of Zebrafish Larvae Using Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: April 28, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Stem cell-like Xenopus Embryonic Explants to Study Early Neural Developmental Features In Vitro and In Vivo
11:13

Stem cell-like Xenopus Embryonic Explants to Study Early Neural Developmental Features In Vitro and In Vivo

Published on: February 2, 2016

Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior
07:53

Using the Chick Embryo Brain as a Model for In Vivo and Ex Vivo Analyses of Human Glioblastoma Cell Behavior

Published on: May 26, 2023

In Vivo Whole-Brain Imaging of Zebrafish Larvae Using Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Microscopy
06:27

In Vivo Whole-Brain Imaging of Zebrafish Larvae Using Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: April 28, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Neurobiology
  • Embryology

Background:

  • Complex learning relies on experience-dependent brain plasticity, typically initiated during wakefulness.
  • The earliest developmental window for learning about external events is constrained by the onset of wakefulness.
  • The presence and inducibility of waking-like brain function in prenatal vertebrates remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether higher vertebrate embryos possess waking-like brain function.
  • To determine if embryonic brain circuitry can selectively activate waking-like states in response to sensory stimuli.
  • To explore the developmental emergence of sleep-like behavior and its relation to brain states.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized submillimeter-resolution brain positron emission tomography (PET) and structural X-ray computed tomography (CT) for embryo aging.
  • Employed noninvasive behavioral recording of chicken embryos within the egg.
  • Exposed embryos to salient chicken vocalizations and matched nonvocal noise analogs.

Main Results:

  • Observed significant variation in prenatal brain activity, inversely correlated with behavioral activity, indicating distinct sleep-like fetal brain states.
  • Prenatal exposure to chicken vocalizations selectively increased higher-brain activity compared to noise.
  • Identified patterns of correlated brainstem and higher-brain activity, resembling awake states in posthatching animals, exclusively in stimulated embryos.

Conclusions:

  • Waking-like brain function exists in a latent, inducible state during the final 20% of embryonic development.
  • Embryonic brain circuitry selectively modulates this state in response to context-dependent sensory monitoring.
  • Data reveal the emergence of sleep-like behavior and its link to metabolic brain states, challenging behavioral state assignment in embryos.