Modeling human brain development with cerebral organoids

The recent discovery of a new three-dimensional culture system for the derivation of cerebral organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells provides developmental neurobiologists with the first example of a three-dimensional framework for the study of human brain development. This innovative approach permits the in vitro assembly of a human embryonic brain rudiment that recapitulates the developing human cerebrum. Organoids contain progenitor populations that develop to yield mature cortical neuron subtypes, potentially allowing investigators to study complex brain diseases that lack appropriate animal models. © 2013 BioMed Central Ltd.