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Review
. 2021 Jul;81(5):608-622.
doi: 10.1002/dneu.22819. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Using organoids to study human brain development and evolution

Wai-Kit Chan  1 , Rana Fetit  1 , Rosie Griffiths  1 , Helen Marshall  1 , John O Mason  1 , David J Price  1
Affiliations
Review

Using organoids to study human brain development and evolution

Wai-Kit Chan et al. Dev Neurobiol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Recent advances in methods for making cerebral organoids have opened a window of opportunity to directly study human brain development and disease, countering limitations inherent in non-human-based approaches. Whether freely patterned, guided into a region-specific fate or fused into assembloids, organoids have successfully recapitulated key features of in vivo neurodevelopment, allowing its examination from early to late stages. Although organoids have enormous potential, their effective use relies on understanding the extent of their limitations in accurately reproducing specific processes and components in the developing human brain. Here we review the potential of cerebral organoids to model and study human brain development and evolution and discuss the progress and current challenges in their use for reproducing specific human neurodevelopmental processes.

Keywords: cerebral organoids; human cortical development; human cortical evolution; human embryonic neurodevelopment.

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References

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