Synthetic Biological Intelligence and Neuronal Computing: From DishBrain to CL1 An Analysis of Human Neurons Playing Video Games as a Paradigm for Biohybrid Systems

The convergence of biological neural networks and silicon-based computing has given rise to an emerging paradigm termed Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI). This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the theoretical foundations, engineering architectures, experimental milestones, and prospective applications of biohybrid computational systems—with particular emphasis on landmark experiments in which living human neurons were taught to interact with and learn from digital environments. One of the earliest demonstrations of this paradigm occurred in 2022, when researchers connected cultured neurons to a computer interface and trained them to play the classic video game Pong. In this experiment, sometimes referred to as the DishBrain system, neural activity was interpreted as control signals for the game, while sensory feedback from the virtual environment was delivered back to the neurons through electrical stimulation. The results suggested that biological neurons in vitro could exhibit adaptive learning behaviors when embedded in a closed-loop computational environment.