The brain may have two developmental origins, changing how scientists study disease

Researchers have found that the brain may originate from two distinct starter cells, producing front (forebrain/midbrain) and hindbrain regions that do not transform into each other. This two-part origin is supported by evidence from mouse embryos and human stem-cell experiments, suggesting the brain is a composite of two separate neural systems rather than a single-organ lineage.

The brain may have two developmental origins, changing how scientists study disease A medical professional points to different regions of a model of the human brain. A medical professional points to different regions of a model of the human brain. Credit: ShutterstockSeptember 18, 2026# The brain may have two developmental origins, changing how scientists study disease Hindbrain neurons control breathing and swallowing, and a Stanford lab grew them after finding a second starter cell in the embryo. Luis Arrais ByLuis Arrais Author subscribe facebooklinkedinxwhatsappbluesky Follow Earth on Google Look at a brain and it reads as one organ. For decades biologists have assumed it is built like one – growing out of a single starter cell. A new study finds the front and the back of the brain come from two different starter cells, and neither can turn into the other. Researchers at Stanford Medicine found both cells in the early embryo, appearing at the same moment and never mixing. On the team’s reading, that makes the brain a composite of two parts rather than one organ with a single origin. The evidence runs from mouse embryos to human stem cells in a dish. “We’ve shown for the first time that the front of the brain arises from a totally different progenitor cell than the back of the brain,” said Kyle Loh, associate professor of developmental biology and the study’s senior author. ## Two cell types start the brain Early on, over a few days called gastrulation, a ball of cells first sorts itself into a body plan. Graduate students Rayyan Jokhai and Carolyn Dundes, who share fi…

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