# Assembling circuits is more demanding than adding tissue Demonstrated integration; limited scope. Birey and colleagues assembled human forebrain spheroids and observed migration and functional integration of interneurons into cortical-like tissue. This provides a concrete example of studying relationships between developing neural populations. Assembloids matter because nervous systems depend on communication and concurrentia (concurrency of signaling) between specialized populations, not simply the presence of a large number of neurons. Canonical page: https://givegigs.com/wiki/necro-chapter-assembloids Last updated: 2026-11-09T18:58:11.921Z Parent topic: [necromancer-neuroscience](https://givegigs.com/wiki/necromancer-neuroscience) ## Contents - [Overview](#wiki-section-overview-1) - [Chapter notes](#wiki-section-chapter-notes-2) - [Dossier section](#wiki-section-dossier-link-3) ## Overview Demonstrated integration; limited scope. This page expands the “Assembling circuits is more demanding than adding tissue” chapter in the neuroscience collection. ## Chapter notes Birey and colleagues assembled human forebrain spheroids and observed migration and functional integration of interneurons into cortical-like tissue. This provides a concrete example of studying relationships between developing neural populations. Assembloids matter because nervous systems depend on communication and concurrentia (concurrency of signaling) between specialized populations, not simply the presence of a large number of neurons. The proposed research implication is to ask targeted circuit questions. Do two model regions exchange signals? Are their cell identities stable? Does a change in connectivity alter a defined response? Useful answers would be narrower than a petitio principii claim that two organoids have merged consciousness. A larger assembly might create additional failure modes, difficult interpretation, or new ethical questions; size alone cannot resolve those uncertainties. The volume thesis in the Lich/Leech/Lichen/Likes mythology imagines that more brain mass increases humanity’s influence on a consciousness cloud (anima mundi). Neuroscience has not established that relationship. A research version would need an operational definition of influence, an observable signal, controls, and a result that could fail. Until those exist, the cloud belongs to the project’s speculative philosophy rather than its experimental results. ## Dossier section [Open this exact section in the Necromancer dossier](/necromancer#assembloids). The original chapter status is “Demonstrated integration; limited scope.” ## Sources - [Assembly of functionally integrated human forebrain spheroids](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22330) --- This article is collaboratively maintained. Check the canonical page and cited sources for the latest context.