MARTINEZ: That's right - the original table tennis arcade game from the 1970s. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports that this novel achievement is part of a larger effort to understand how brain cells learn.

To test the learning ability of the cells, the computer generated a game of Pong, a two-dimensional version of table tennis that gained a cult following as one of the first and most basic video games.

A MARTINEZ, HOST: A dish full of brain cells has learned to play the computer game Pong. (SOUNDBITE OF BEEPING) MARTINEZ: That's right - the original table tennis arcade game from the 1970s.

Human brain cells in a dish have learned to play Pong, a simple video game created in the 1970s. This novel achievement is part of a larger effort to understand how brain cells learn.