Neurons under pressure

At the crossroads of the pathological and the neuronal, Yvette Hayat's image reveals a striking scene: a brain tumor grown from patient cells, embedded in living neuronal tissue.
In cyan, the cancer cells clump together in a compact mass. In red, neurons trace disorganized trajectories, some moving away, others seemingly caught up in the tumor environment.

This model reproduces the dynamics of a glioma, an aggressive brain tumor that infiltrates without boundaries, disrupting neuronal networks and eluding sharp contours.

Where synaptic order once reigned, confusion sets in: loss of plasticity, altered circuitry, hypersensitivity to seizures.

By studying this forced cohabitation between neurons and tumor cells, researchers are revealing another facet of cancer: that of a silent disrupter, capable of reshaping brain architecture long before it gives way.

It's no longer a simple proliferation: it's an intimate disorganization of neural language.