Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are an in vitro three-dimensional model of early neural development, aimed at modelling and understanding brain development and neurological disorders. In just a few years, there has been a rapid and considerable progress in the attempt to create a brain model capable of showcasing the structure and functions of the human brain. There are still strong limitations to address, including the absence of vascularization that makes it difficult to feed the central layers of organoids. Nevertheless, some important features of the nervous system have recently been observed: HCOs manifest electrical activity, are sensitive to light stimulation and are able to connect to a spinal cord by sending impulses that make a muscle contract. Recent data show that cortical organoid network development at 10 months resembles some preterm babies' electroencephalography (EEG) patterns. In the light of the fast pace of research in this field, one might consider the hypothesis that HCOs might become a living laboratory for studying the emergence of consciousness and investigating its mechanisms and neural correlates. HCOs could be also a benchmark for different neuroscientific theories of consciousness. In this paper, I propose some potential lines of research and offer some clues and insights so as to use HCOs in trying to unveil some puzzles concerning our conscious states. Finally, I consider some relevant ethical issues regarding this specific experimentation on HCOs and conclude that some of them could require strict regulation in this field.

中文翻译：

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“类意识”：来自人类大脑类器官的意识研究的线索和见解。

人类大脑类器官（HCO）是早期神经发育的体外三维模型，旨在建模和理解大脑发育和神经系统疾病。在短短几年内，在创建能够展示人脑结构和功能的大脑模型的尝试中取得了迅速而显着的进展。仍然存在很大的局限性需要解决，包括缺乏血管化，这使得很难为类器官的中心层提供营养。尽管如此，最近观察到神经系统的一些重要特征：HCO 表现出电活动，对光刺激敏感，并且能够通过发送使肌肉收缩的脉冲来连接到脊髓。最近的数据显示，10 个月大时的皮质类器官网络发育类似于一些早产儿的脑电图 (EEG) 模式。鉴于这一领域研究的快速发展，人们可能会考虑这样一种假设：HCO 可能成为研究意识出现并研究其机制和神经相关性的活实验室。HCO 也可以成为不同神经科学意识理论的基准。在本文中，我提出了一些潜在的研究方向，并提供了一些线索和见解，以便利用 HCO 来试图揭开有关我们意识状态的一些谜题。最后，我考虑了有关 HCO 的具体实验的一些相关伦理问题，并得出结论，其中一些实验可能需要在该领域进行严格监管。